MBSS Site Summary for: AL-A-232-313-96


Located on SAND SPRING RUN in the Georges Creek watershed, 8-digit code: 02141004.
This stream was visited in the spring on 4/8/1996 and again in the summer on 6/25/1996.

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 Poor - 2.0 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Poor - 2.5 / 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 1,903 acres A stream flowing through a densely forested area. An example of a forested stream.
Urban Land Use 5.4 %
Agricultural Land Use 12.2 %
Forested Land Use 81.5 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 18/20 (Optimal)
Epifaunal Substrate 10/20 (Marginal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 13/20 (Suboptimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		16/20 (Optimal)
Riffle Quality 14/20 (Suboptimal)
Shading 85 %
Embeddedness 60 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 60%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 19 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 7.4 mg/L
pH (lab) 7.01
Conductivity 275 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		175.7 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 2.4 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 3 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Creek Chub 19
Blacknose Dace 1
White Sucker 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Northern Green Frog
Northern Watersnake

Crayfish:
Cambarus bartonii bartonii

Exotic Plants:
No exotic plants noted.
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Diplectrona Net-Spinning Caddisfly 4
Acroneuria Golden Stoneflies 3
Rhyacophila Free-Living Caddisfly 2
Stegopterna Black Fly 2
Amphinemura Spring Stonefly 2
Gyraulus White Ramshorn Freshwater Snail 1
Lumbriculidae Worm 1
Brillia Non-Biting Midges 1
Paracapnia Small Winter Stonefly 1
Neophylax Caddisfly 1
Lanthus Clubtail Dragonfly 1
Antocha Crane Fly 1
Tipula Crane Fly 1
Ormosia Cranefly 1
Wormaldia Fingernet Caddisfly 1
Peltoperla 1
Leuctra  Rolled-Winged 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.