MBSS Site Summary for: CA-S-119-211-97


Located on FISHING CR in the West Chesapeake Bay watershed, 8-digit code: 02131005.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/24/1997 and again in the summer on 6/26/1997.

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 - 1.7 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Fair - 3.3 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 682 acres A stream flowing through a densely forested area. An example of a forested stream.
Urban Land Use 0.1 %
Agricultural Land Use 9.1 %
Forested Land Use 90.5 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 11/20 (Suboptimal)
Epifaunal Substrate 11/20 (Suboptimal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 4/20 (Poor)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		8/20 (Marginal)
Riffle Quality 10/20 (Marginal)
Shading 80 %
Embeddedness 98 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 98%. This is very high, and may adversely affect biotic communities.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 21 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 7.7 mg/L
pH (lab) 6.9
Conductivity 135 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		323.4 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 2.2 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 3 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Eastern Mudminnow 79
Blacknose Dace 13
American Eel 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Northern Green Frog
Northern Spring Peeper
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
Amphipoda Scud 33
Parametriocnemus Non-Biting Midges 11
Cricotopus/Orthocladius Midge 7
Amphinemura Spring Stonefly 6
Lype Net Tube Caddisfly 5
Gammarus Amphipod 5
Tanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 4
Neophylax Caddisfly 3
Conchapelopia Non-Biting Midges 3
Polypedilum Non-Biting Midges 2
Tubificidae Aquatic Worm 2
Lumbriculidae Worm 2
Eccoptura Yellow Stone Stonefly 2
Perlodidae Perlodid Stonefly 1
Boyeria Spotted Darner Dragonfly 1
Nigronia Megaloptera (Dark Fishfly) 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.