MBSS Site Summary for: BA-P-284-204-96


Located on PARKER BR in the Little Gunpowder Falls watershed, 8-digit code: 02130804.
This stream was visited in the spring on 4/3/1996 and again in the summer on 7/1/1996.

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 - 4.0 / 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 1,499 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 71.7 %
Forested Land Use 27.6 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 9/20 (Marginal)
Epifaunal Substrate 6/20 (Marginal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 12/20 (Suboptimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		15/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality 11/20 (Suboptimal)
Shading 85 %
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 21.8 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 9.2 mg/L
pH (lab) 7.34
Conductivity 124 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		319.6 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 1.6 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 134
Blacknose Dace 93
Creek Chub 64
White Sucker 56
Tessellated Darter 47
Cutlip Minnow 35
Swallowtail Shiner 35
American Eel 11
Northern Hogsucker 11
Longnose Dace 9
Common Shiner 5
Margined Madtom 5
Bluegill 3
Satinfin Shiner 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Northern Two-Lined Salamander

Crayfish:
No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:
No exotic plants noted.
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Cricotopus/Orthocladius Midge 54
Stenonema Flatheaded Mayfly 7
Ephemerella Sulphur Mayfly 7
Paraleptophlebia Blue Quill Mayfly 5
Eurylophella Mayfly 3
Clinocera Aquatic Dance Fly 2
Tubificidae Aquatic Worm 2
Anchytarsus Beetle 2
Stenelmis Beetle 2
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 2
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 2
Rheocricotopus Non-Biting Midges 1
Optioservus Riffle Beetle 1
Oulimnius Riffle Beetle 1
Hydropsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 1
Microtendipes Non-Biting Midges 1
Orthocladiinae A Non-Biting Midges 1
Prosimulium Black Fly 1
Epeorus Mayfly 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.