MBSS Site Summary for: BIRD-110-B-2009

Site Photos

Field photo showing stream conditions at site BIRD-110-B-2009-1 (Opens in a new window) Field photo showing stream conditions at site BIRD-110-B-2009-2 (Opens in a new window)

Located on UT White Marsh Run in the Bird River watershed, 8-digit code: 02130803.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/24/2009 and again in the summer on 6/30/2009.

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 - 2.7 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Poor - 2.7 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 346 acres A highly channelized urban stream with concrete banks. An example of a highly channelized urban stream.
Urban Land Use 57.6 %
Agricultural Land Use 22.3 %
Forested Land Use 19.8 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 7/20 (Marginal)
Epifaunal Substrate 4/20 (Poor)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 6/20 (Marginal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 65 meters 		11/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 10 meters 		1/20 (Poor)
Shading 70 %
Embeddedness 100 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 100%. This is very high, and may adversely affect biotic communities.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 19.8 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 3.8 mg/L
Dissolved oxygen levels measured in the stream were very low (3.8 mg/L). Many fishes and other aquatic animals cannot tolerate low levels of oxygen in the water.
pH (lab) 7.67
Conductivity 599 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		1780.6 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 7.7052 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 7 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Eastern Mosquitofish 81
Banded Killifish 44
Mummichog 18
Fathead Minnow 14
Creek Chub 13
White Sucker 10
Blacknose Dace 4
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
American Bullfrog
Eastern American Toad
Eastern Box Turtle
Gray Treefrog
Northern Green Frog
Pickerel Frog

Crayfish:
Orconectes virilis

Exotic Plants:
Japanese Barberry
Japanese Honeysuckle
Mile-A-Minute
Multiflora Rose
Oriental Bittersweet
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Physa Air-Breathing Freshwater Snail 27
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 19
Cricotopus Non-Biting Midges 8
Tanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 8
Dicrotendipes Non-Biting Midges 7
Hydrobaenus Midge 5
Tubificidae Aquatic Worm 4
Ablabesmyia Non-Biting Midge 4
Thienemannimyia Group Non-Biting Midges 3
Calopteryx Damselfly 3
Nanocladius Non-Biting Midges 3
Paratanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 3
Polypedilum Non-Biting Midges 2
Argia Narrow-Winged Damselfly 2
Stagnicola Air Breathing Freshwater Snail 2
Zavrelimyia Non-Biting Midges 2
Ironoquia Northern Caddisfly 2
Limnodrilus Worm 1
Somatochlora 1
Spirosperma Aquatic Oligochaete Worm 1
Enchytraeidae Aquatic Worm 1
Tipula Crane Fly 1
Tipulidae Cranefly 1
Peltodytes Crawling Water Beetle 1
Coenagrionidae Narrowwinged Damselfly 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.