MBSS Site Summary for: AL-A-585-122-96


Located on POTOMAC R UT3 in the Potomac River L N Branch watershed, 8-digit code: 02141001.
This stream was visited in the spring on 4/10/1996 and again in the summer on 6/24/1996.

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 - 1.5 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Poor - 2.8 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 383 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 1.3 %
Agricultural Land Use 51.2 %
Forested Land Use 45.2 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 14/20 (Suboptimal)
Epifaunal Substrate 5/20 (Poor)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 9/20 (Marginal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		12/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality 10/20 (Marginal)
Shading 92 %
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 16.6 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 8.2 mg/L
pH (lab) 8.08
Conductivity 398 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		3504 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 2.3 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 5 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Blacknose Dace 157
Creek Chub 69
Rosyside Dace 13
Largemouth Bass 1
White Sucker 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Northern Dusky Salamander
Northern Green Frog
Northern Red Salamander
Northern Two-Lined Salamander
Wood Frog

Crayfish:
Cambaridae
Cambarus bartonii bartonii

Exotic Plants:
No exotic plants noted.
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Parametriocnemus Non-Biting Midges 20
Amphinemura Spring Stonefly 10
Diphetor Mayfly 8
Wormaldia Fingernet Caddisfly 7
Diplectrona Net-Spinning Caddisfly 7
Optioservus Riffle Beetle 5
Diamesa Bloodworm 5
Tipula Crane Fly 4
Anchytarsus Beetle 4
Caecidotea Isopod 3
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 3
Cricotopus/Orthocladius Midge 2
Rhyacophila Free-Living Caddisfly 1
Clioperla Green-Winged Stonefly 1
Sweltsa Stonefly 1
Ectopria Water Penny Beetle 1
Eukiefferiella Non-Biting Midges 1
Micropsectra Non-Biting Midges 1
Stempellinella Non-Biting Midges 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.