MBSS Site Summary for: BA-P-156-208-96


Located on LITTLE FALLS in the Loch Raven Reservoir watershed, 8-digit code: 02130805.
This stream was visited in the spring on 4/8/1996 and again in the summer on 6/18/1996.

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 - 3.7 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Good - 4.7 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 1,600 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 0.6 %
Agricultural Land Use 67.4 %
Forested Land Use 31.8 %


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 16/20 (Optimal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 13/20 (Suboptimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		11/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality 18/20 (Optimal)
Shading 60 %
Embeddedness 50 %


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 19.5 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 10.2 mg/L
pH (lab) 7.18
Conductivity 136 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		290.7 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 1.1 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 15 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Blacknose Dace 120
Rosyside Dace 97
Longnose Dace 84
River Chub 50
Cutlip Minnow 42
Northern Hogsucker 39
White Sucker 25
Creek Chub 24
Common Shiner 21
Margined Madtom 13
Bluntnose Minnow 11
Brown Trout 9
Tessellated Darter 4
Central Stoneroller 2
American Eel 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
No amphibians and reptiles noted.

Crayfish:
Orconectes virilis

Exotic Plants:
No exotic plants noted.
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Ephemerella Sulphur Mayfly 39
Stenonema Flatheaded Mayfly 7
Prostoia Spring Stonefly 6
Epeorus Mayfly 5
Cricotopus/Orthocladius Midge 5
Isonychia Slate Drake Mayfly 5
Optioservus Riffle Beetle 4
Promoresia Riffle Beetle 2
Diplectrona Net-Spinning Caddisfly 2
Eukiefferiella Non-Biting Midges 2
Stegopterna Black Fly 2
Drunella Blue-Winged Olive Mayfly 2
Neophylax Caddisfly 1
Antocha Crane Fly 1
Corydalus Dobsonfly 1
Chimarra Fingernet Caddisfly 1
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 1
Acroneuria Golden Stoneflies 1
Micrasema 1
Hydropsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 1
Oulimnius Riffle Beetle 1
Hemerodromia Tiny Fly 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.