MBSS Site Summary for: AL-A-392-316-95


Located on SIDELING HILL CR UT1 in the Sideling Hill Creek watershed, 8-digit code: 02140510.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/15/1995 and again in the summer on 6/8/1995.

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 Fair - 3.7 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Fair - 3.0 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 3,393 acres A stream flowing through a densely forested area. An example of a forested stream.
Urban Land Use 3.4 %
Agricultural Land Use 29 %
Forested Land Use 67.6 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 10/20 (Marginal)
Epifaunal Substrate 5/20 (Poor)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 6/20 (Marginal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		8/20 (Marginal)
Riffle Quality 16/20 (Optimal)
Shading 20 %
Embeddedness 25 %


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 20 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 8.3 mg/L
pH (lab) 7.36
Conductivity 300 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		423.5 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 2 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 8 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Blacknose Dace 527
Potomac Sculpin 150
Creek Chub 54
Central Stoneroller 32
Longnose Dace 4
Fantail Darter 3
Greenside Darter 2
White Sucker 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Northern Watersnake

Crayfish:
No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:
No exotic plants noted.
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Amphinemura Spring Stonefly 32
Prosimulium Black Fly 22
Planorbella 10
Physa Air-Breathing Freshwater Snail 9
Neophylax Caddisfly 7
Prostoia Spring Stonefly 6
Gyraulus White Ramshorn Freshwater Snail 5
Hemerodromia Tiny Fly 4
Cricotopus/Orthocladius Midge 4
Hydropsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 3
Tanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 3
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 2
Corynoneura Non-Biting Midges 1
Stylogomphus Clubtail Dragonfly 1
Ameletus Combmouthed Minnow Mayfly 1
Rhyacophila Free-Living Caddisfly 1
Acroneuria Golden Stoneflies 1
Eurylophella Mayfly 1
Fossaria Air Breathing Freshwater Snail 1
Baetis Blue-Winged Olive Mayfly 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.