MBSS Site Summary for: AL-A-343-330-96


Located on GEORGES CR in the Georges Creek watershed, 8-digit code: 02141004.
This stream was visited in the spring on 4/18/1996 and again in the summer on 7/11/1996.

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 - 1.8 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 44,197 acres A stream flowing through a densely forested area. An example of a forested stream.
Urban Land Use 3 %
Agricultural Land Use 5.7 %
Forested Land Use 82.4 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 19/20 (Optimal)
Epifaunal Substrate 10/20 (Marginal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 16/20 (Optimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		18/20 (Optimal)
Riffle Quality 19/20 (Optimal)
Shading 15 %
Embeddedness 55 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 55%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.
Several measures of instream habitat were considered 'Optimal' at this location.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 15 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 8.7 mg/L
pH (lab) 7.41
Conductivity 980 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		678.3 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 1.9 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 4 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
White Sucker 41
Rainbow Trout 12
Blacknose Dace 1
Rosyside Dace 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
No amphibians and reptiles noted.

Crayfish:
No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:
No exotic plants noted.
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Parametriocnemus Non-Biting Midges 6
Oemopteryx Stonefly 2
Hydropsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 2
Ephemerella Sulphur Mayfly 2
Ostrocerca Stonefly 1
Potthastia Non-Biting Midges 1
Amphinemura Spring Stonefly 1
Dicranota Hairy-Eyed Cranefly 1
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 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.