MBSS Site Summary for: BELK-302-R-2008

Site Photos

Field photo showing stream conditions at site BELK-302-R-2008-1 (Opens in a new window) Field photo showing stream conditions at site BELK-302-R-2008-2 (Opens in a new window)

Located on BIG ELK CREEK in the Big Elk Creek watershed, 8-digit code: 02130606.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/3/2008 and again in the summer on 6/24/2008.

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 - 4.7 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Poor - 2.7 / 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 34,111 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 4 %
Agricultural Land Use 71.7 %
Forested Land Use 23.3 %


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 13/20 (Suboptimal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 16/20 (Optimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 55 meters 		13/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 50 meters 		17/20 (Optimal)
Shading 65 %
Embeddedness 25 %


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 20.4 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 9.7 mg/L
pH (lab) 7.51
Conductivity 196 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		455.5 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 0.8593 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 21 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Spottail Shiner 294
Blue Ridge Sculpin 255
White Sucker 138
Common Shiner 137
Tessellated Darter 114
Satinfin Shiner 82
River Chub 80
Swallowtail Shiner 78
Longnose Dace 77
American Eel 45
Northern Hogsucker 27
Sea Lamprey 26
Margined Madtom 23
Redbreast Sunfish 23
Smallmouth Bass 23
Cutlip Minnow 17
Blacknose Dace 11
Creek Chub 8
Rosyface Shiner 8
Bluegill 2
Largemouth Bass 2
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
American Bullfrog
Eastern Box Turtle
Fowler's Toad
Pickerel Frog

Crayfish:
Orconectes limosus

Exotic Plants:
Autumn Olive
Garlic Mustard
Japanese Barberry
Japanese Honeysuckle
Japanese Hops
Japanese Stiltgrass
Mile-A-Minute
Multiflora Rose
Oriental Bittersweet
Wineberry
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 29
Eukiefferiella Non-Biting Midges 27
Corbicula Basket Clam 11
Hydropsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 10
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 7
Leucotrichia 6
Antocha Crane Fly 5
Simulium Black Fly 4
Maccaffertium March Brown And Cahill Mayfly 4
Gordiidae Horsehair Worm 3
Thienemanniella Non-Biting Midges 2
Tvetenia Non-Biting Midges 2
Ferrissia Small Air-Breathing Freshwater Limpets 2
Isonychia Slate Drake Mayfly 1
Helisoma 1
Micrasema 1
Stygobromus Amphipod 1
Tipula Crane Fly 1
Robackia European Non-Biting Midge 1
Girardia Freshwater Flatworm 1
Dicranota Hairy-Eyed Cranefly 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.