MBSS Site Summary for: ATKI-102-X-2017  


Located on Wheel Creek in the Atkisson Reservoir watershed, 8-digit code: 02130703.
This stream was visited in the spring on 4/20/2017 and again in the summer on 6/29/2017.

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 N R

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 146 acres A highly channelized urban stream with concrete banks. An example of a highly channelized urban stream.
Urban Land Use 82.3 %
Agricultural Land Use 0 %
Forested Land Use 13.1 %


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 14/20 (Suboptimal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 11/20 (Suboptimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 42 meters 		11/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 33 meters 		8/20 (Marginal)
Shading 45 %
Embeddedness 15 %


Stream Water Quality:
No water quality measurements available for this site.

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
Blacknose Dace 383
Creek Chub 160
Blue Ridge Sculpin 46
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Cope's Gray Treefrog
Eastern Gartersnake
Northern Green Frog
Pickerel Frog

Crayfish:
Cambarus diogenes
Orconectes virilis

Exotic Plants:
Garlic Mustard
Japanese Barberry
Japanese Honeysuckle
Japanese Stiltgrass
Mile-A-Minute
Multiflora Rose
Oriental Bittersweet
Tree Of Heaven
Wineberry
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
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.