MBSS Site Summary for: CA-S-014-134-97


Located on FOWLER'S MILL BR in the Patuxent River lower watershed, 8-digit code: 02131101.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/17/1997 and again in the summer on 6/16/1997.

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 - 2.3 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Poor - 1.6 / 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 204 acres A highly channelized urban stream with concrete banks. An example of a highly channelized urban stream.
Urban Land Use 29.2 %
Agricultural Land Use 24.2 %
Forested Land Use 46.6 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 4/20 (Poor)
Epifaunal Substrate 3/20 (Poor)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 7/20 (Marginal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		2/20 (Poor)
Riffle Quality 7/20 (Marginal)
Shading 82 %
Embeddedness 52 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 52%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.
Several measures of instream habitat were considered 'Poor' at this location.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 17.8 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 13.3 mg/L
pH (lab) 6.71
Conductivity 186 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		312.9 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 2 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Blacknose Dace 71
Tessellated Darter 2
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Northern Two-Lined Salamander
Pickerel Frog
Wood Frog

Crayfish:
No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:
No exotic plants noted.
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Gammarus Amphipod 49
Parametriocnemus Non-Biting Midges 19
Simulium Black Fly 5
Polypedilum Non-Biting Midges 4
Rheocricotopus Non-Biting Midges 4
Caecidotea Isopod 3
Cricotopus/Orthocladius Midge 2
Corynoneura Non-Biting Midges 2
Diplocladius Non-Biting Midges 2
Stegopterna Black Fly 2
Tipula Crane Fly 2
Limnephilidae Northern Casemaker Caddisfly 2
Pisidium Freshwater Pea (Pill) Clam 2
Tropisternus Water Scavenger Beetle 1
Naididae Aquatic Worm 1
Prosimulium Black Fly 1
Zavrelimyia Non-Biting Midges 1
Erioptera Cranefly 1
Orthocladiinae A 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.