MBSS Site Summary for: BA-P-042-116-96


Located on LITTLE GUNPOWDER FALLS in the Little Gunpowder Falls watershed, 8-digit code: 02130804.
This stream was visited in the spring on 4/17/1996 and again in the summer on 6/27/1996.

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 Good - 4.3 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Fair - 3.3 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
(Hint: Screen readers will announce definitions; mouse users can hover over dotted text.)
Catchment area 1,571 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 0 %
Agricultural Land Use 67.9 %
Forested Land Use 31.6 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 12/20 (Suboptimal)
Epifaunal Substrate 11/20 (Suboptimal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 13/20 (Suboptimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		15/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality 15/20 (Suboptimal)
Shading 75 %
Embeddedness 70 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 70%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 21.1 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 9.8 mg/L
pH (lab) 6.75
Conductivity 130 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		239.9 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 0.9 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 14 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Rosyside Dace 229
Blacknose Dace 197
Cutlip Minnow 91
Creek Chub 56
White Sucker 22
Longnose Dace 16
Tessellated Darter 16
American Eel 14
Northern Hogsucker 13
Common Shiner 11
Swallowtail Shiner 7
Margined Madtom 3
River Chub 2
Satinfin Shiner 2
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Eastern Snapping Turtle
Northern Green Frog
Northern Two-Lined Salamander

Crayfish:
Orconectes limosus

Exotic Plants:
No exotic plants noted.
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Cricotopus/Orthocladius Midge 38
Ephemerella Sulphur Mayfly 13
Hydropsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 12
Stenonema Flatheaded Mayfly 6
Diamesa Bloodworm 5
Polypedilum Non-Biting Midges 4
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 3
Eurylophella Mayfly 3
Diplectrona Net-Spinning Caddisfly 2
Clinocera Aquatic Dance Fly 2
Conchapelopia Non-Biting Midges 2
Micropsectra Non-Biting Midges 1
Parametriocnemus Non-Biting Midges 1
Amphinemura Spring Stonefly 1
Prosimulium Black Fly 1
Stegopterna Black Fly 1
Paraleptophlebia Blue Quill Mayfly 1
Nigronia Megaloptera (Dark Fishfly) 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.