MBSS Site Summary for: BA-P-055-103-96


Located on PARKER BR UT1 in the Little Gunpowder Falls watershed, 8-digit code: 02130804.
This stream was visited in the spring on 4/2/1996 and again in the summer on 6/5/1996.

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 - 1.7 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Good - 4.0 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 177 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 68.4 %
Forested Land Use 32.2 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 5/20 (Poor)
Epifaunal Substrate 6/20 (Marginal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 6/20 (Marginal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		6/20 (Marginal)
Riffle Quality 7/20 (Marginal)
Shading 60 %
Embeddedness 90 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 90%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 14.3 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 9.6 mg/L
pH (lab) 7.11
Conductivity 86 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		359.3 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 2.1 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 3 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Blacknose Dace 47
Creek Chub 47
American Eel 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Northern Dusky Salamander
Northern Green Frog
Pickerel Frog

Crayfish:
Cambarus bartonii bartonii
Orconectes limosus

Exotic Plants:
No exotic plants noted.
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Stegopterna Black Fly 69
Paraleptophlebia Blue Quill Mayfly 14
Prosimulium Black Fly 8
Stenonema Flatheaded Mayfly 3
Stenacron Mayfly 2
Baetidae Small Minnow Mayfly 2
Prostoia Spring Stonefly 2
Pseudolimnophila Crane Fly 2
Ephemerella Sulphur Mayfly 1
Amphinemura Spring Stonefly 1
Nigronia Megaloptera (Dark Fishfly) 1
Anchytarsus Beetle 1
Gomphidae Clubtail Dragonfly 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.