MBSS Site Summary for: BA-P-478-314-96


Located on GWYNNS FALLS in the Gwynns Falls watershed, 8-digit code: 02130905.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/11/1996 and again in the summer on 9/26/1996.

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 - 3.0 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Poor - 1.7 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 19,380 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 31.8 %
Agricultural Land Use 35.7 %
Forested Land Use 31.9 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 13/20 (Suboptimal)
Epifaunal Substrate 8/20 (Marginal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 9/20 (Marginal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		18/20 (Optimal)
Riffle Quality 5/20 (Poor)
Shading 75 %
Embeddedness 95 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 95%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 13.9 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 7.7 mg/L
pH (lab) 7.76
Conductivity 284 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		1187 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 1.9 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 13 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Green Sunfish 95
White Sucker 62
Redbreast Sunfish 53
Bluegill 40
Rock Bass 20
Smallmouth Bass 12
Cutlip Minnow 5
Tessellated Darter 4
American Eel 2
Creek Chub 2
Common Shiner 1
Goldfish 1
Rainbow Trout 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
No amphibians and reptiles noted.

Crayfish:
No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:
No exotic plants noted.
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Stenonema Flatheaded Mayfly 3
Conchapelopia Non-Biting Midges 2
Rheotanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 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.