MBSS Site Summary for: BRET-411-H-2009


Located on McIntosh Run in the Breton Bay watershed, 8-digit code: 02140104.
This stream was visited in the spring on 4/17/2009 and again in the summer on 7/28/2009.

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 N R
Benthic IBI N R

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 16,967 acres A stream flowing through a densely forested area. An example of a forested stream.
Urban Land Use 5 %
Agricultural Land Use 26.4 %
Forested Land Use 67.6 %


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 16/20 (Optimal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 9/20 (Marginal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 65 meters 		15/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 10 meters 		10/20 (Marginal)
Shading 75 %
Embeddedness 80 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 80%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 23.2 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 5.5 mg/L
Conductivity 110 µmho/cm

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 15 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Redbreast Sunfish 52
Spottail Shiner 30
Tessellated Darter 20
American Eel 19
Bluegill 14
Swallowtail Shiner 14
Rosyface Shiner 13
Least Brook Lamprey 12
Pumpkinseed 10
Eastern Mudminnow 9
Largemouth Bass 4
Golden Shiner 3
Green Sunfish 3
Chain Pickerel 1
Creek Chubsucker 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Cope's Gray Treefrog
Eastern Box Turtle
Fowler's Toad
Northern Green Frog
Southern Leopard Frog

Crayfish:
Orconectes limosus

Exotic Plants:
Japanese Honeysuckle
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Benthic data unavailable.
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.