MBSS Site Summary for: BRET-101-R-2016

Site Photos

Field photo showing stream conditions at site BRET-101-R-2016-MidpointDownstream (Opens in a new window) Field photo showing stream conditions at site BRET-101-R-2016-MidpointUpstream (Opens in a new window)

Located on UT to Moll Dyers Run in the Breton Bay watershed, 8-digit code: 02140104.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/29/2016 and again in the summer on 6/14/2016.

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 291 acres A stream flowing through a densely forested area. An example of a forested stream.
Urban Land Use 1.7 %
Agricultural Land Use 11.9 %
Forested Land Use 70 %


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 15/20 (Suboptimal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 11/20 (Suboptimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 47 meters
13/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 28 meters
9/20 (Marginal)
Shading 75 %
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:

pH (lab) 5.94
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity)
47.4 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 3.8737 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 9 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Green Sunfish 93
Tessellated Darter 17
Eastern Mudminnow 15
Redbreast Sunfish 8
Least Brook Lamprey 7
Bluegill 6
American Eel 5
Creek Chubsucker 2
Lepomis Hybrid 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:

American Bullfrog
Cope's Gray Treefrog
Northern Green Frog
Pickerel Frog

Crayfish:

No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:

Multiflora Rose
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:

Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Polypedilum Non-Biting Midges 37
Simulium Black Fly 14
Diplectrona Net-Spinning Caddisfly 12
Psilotreta Mortarjoint Casemaker Caddisfly 11
Rheotanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 4
Parametriocnemus Non-Biting Midges 3
Caecidotea Isopod 3
Leuctra  Rolled-Winged Stonefly 2
Haploperla Green Stonefly 2
Neophylax Caddisfly 2
Eukiefferiella Non-Biting Midges 2
Rheocricotopus Non-Biting Midges 2
Acerpenna Tiny Blue-Winged Olive Mayflies 2
Eccoptura Yellow Stone Stonefly 2
Trissopelopia Non-Biting Midges 2
Tvetenia Non-Biting Midges 2
Leptophlebiidae Pronggilled Mayfly 2
Habrophlebia Prong-Gilled Mayfly 1
Tanypodinae Non-Biting Midges 1
Tanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 1
Thienemannimyia Group Non-Biting Midges 1
Micropsectra Non-Biting Midges 1
Microtendipes Non-Biting Midges 1
Hydropsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 1
Corynoneura Non-Biting Midges 1
Tipula Crane Fly 1
Chimarra Fingernet Caddisfly 1
Crangonyx Amphipod 1
Synurella Amphipod 1
Stegopterna Black Fly 1
Maccaffertium March Brown And Cahill Mayfly 1
Nigronia Megaloptera (Dark Fishfly) 1
Orthocladiinae Midge 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.