MBSS Site Summary for: AL-A-413-308-96


Located on BRADDOCK RUN in the Wills Creek watershed, 8-digit code: 02141003.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/29/1996 and again in the summer on 7/16/1996.

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 Fair - 3.5 / 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 6,081 acres A stream flowing through a densely forested area. An example of a forested stream.
Urban Land Use 3.9 %
Agricultural Land Use 8.8 %
Forested Land Use 83.4 %


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 3/20 (Poor)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 19/20 (Optimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		17/20 (Optimal)
Riffle Quality 2/20 (Poor)
Shading 90 %
Embeddedness 65 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 65%. 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) 9.4 mg/L
pH (lab) 7.78
Conductivity 900 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		1484 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 1.3 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 1 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Blacknose Dace 2
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
American Bullfrog
Long-Tailed Salamander
Northern Green Frog
Northern Two-Lined Salamander

Crayfish:
No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:
No exotic plants noted.
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Acroneuria Golden Stoneflies 2
Gammarus Amphipod 2
Enchytraeidae Aquatic Worm 1
Orthocladiinae Midge 1
Nemouridae Nemourid Stonefly 1
Diplectrona Net-Spinning Caddisfly 1
Sweltsa 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.