MBSS Site Summary for: AA-S-001-226-97


Located on LYONS CR in the Patuxent River middle watershed, 8-digit code: 02131102.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/6/1997 and again in the summer on 7/28/1997.

Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) Results:

An Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) is a scientific tool used to identify and classify stream health. An IBI associates anthropogenic influences on a stream or with biological condition in the stream, and is formulated using data developed from biosurveys.
Details on the development and application of MBSS IBIs are in this document.
Fish IBI Good - 5.0 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Good - 4.7 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
(Hint: Screen readers will announce definitions; mouse users can hover over dotted text.)
Catchment area 5,025 acres Cows standing in a stream at a site with high agricultural land use. Cows survey the sampling procedure at this extreme example of a highly agriculturalized site.
Urban Land Use 7.2 %
Agricultural Land Use 59.7 %
Forested Land Use 32.5 %


Stream showing woody debris, logs, and rocky substrate.
An example of woody debris in a stream.

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 11/20 (Suboptimal)
Epifaunal Substrate 5/20 (Poor)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 9/20 (Marginal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		13/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality 0/20 (Poor)
Shading 95 %
Embeddedness 100 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 100%. This is very high, and may adversely affect biotic communities.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 23.1 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 6.8 mg/L
pH (lab) 6.83
Conductivity 300 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		246.7 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 4.3 mg/L

Biological Stream Condition:

Surveys of the organisms living within a stream can give indications of stream health. Species richness, or the number of different species present, as well as indicator species (species whose presence, absence or abundance can serve as a measure of environmental conditions) are informative for stream health. 		Close-up of a mayfly indicator species.

Fish Survey Results:
The following 14 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Eastern Mudminnow 121
Creek Chubsucker 108
Redfin Pickerel 41
Pumpkinseed 40
Tessellated Darter 39
Golden Shiner 34
White Sucker 22
Pirate Perch 20
Swallowtail Shiner 19
American Eel 10
Tadpole Madtom 9
Bluegill 8
Least Brook Lamprey 4
Fallfish 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Eastern American Toad
Eastern Box Turtle
Eastern Red-Backed Salamander
Northern Green Frog
Northern Two-Lined Salamander
Pickerel Frog
Stinkpot

Crayfish:
No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:
No exotic plants noted.
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Prosimulium Black Fly 10
Acerpenna Tiny Blue-Winged Olive Mayflies 10
Isoperla Stripetail Stonefly 9
Tubificidae Aquatic Worm 9
Stegopterna Black Fly 8
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 7
Cricotopus/Orthocladius Midge 6
Amphinemura Spring Stonefly 5
Pisidium Freshwater Pea (Pill) Clam 4
Conchapelopia Non-Biting Midges 3
Hemerodromia Tiny Fly 3
Limnephilidae Northern Casemaker Caddisfly 3
Rheotanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 2
Tanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 2
Limnodrilus Worm 2
Prostoia Spring Stonefly 2
Eukiefferiella Non-Biting Midges 2
Parametriocnemus Non-Biting Midges 2
Stenonema Flatheaded Mayfly 2
Gammarus Amphipod 2
Chelifera Aquatic Dance Fly 1
Crangonyx Amphipod 1
Tipula Crane Fly 1
Polypedilum Non-Biting Midges 1
Orthocladiinae A Non-Biting Midges 1
Hydrobaenus Midge 1
Lype Net Tube Caddisfly 1
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 1
Allocapnia Small Winter Stonefly 1
Kick net sampling for macroinvertebrates.
Sampling with a kick net.

Information disclaimer: The information and data on this page is for guidance and general planning purposes only. It should not be used to make decisions on specific matters.