MBSS Site Summary for: CA-S-200-213-97


Located on FISHING CR UT1 in the West Chesapeake Bay watershed, 8-digit code: 02131005.
This stream was visited in the spring on 4/2/1997 and again in the summer on 6/25/1997.

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 Poor - 2.1 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 569 acres A stream flowing through a densely forested area. An example of a forested stream.
Urban Land Use 5.1 %
Agricultural Land Use 10.5 %
Forested Land Use 84.2 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 15/20 (Suboptimal)
Epifaunal Substrate 13/20 (Suboptimal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 5/20 (Poor)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		9/20 (Marginal)
Riffle Quality 8/20 (Marginal)
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 21.6 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 7.8 mg/L
pH (lab) 6.88
Conductivity 140 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		442.4 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 3.1 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 4 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Eastern Mudminnow 21
American Eel 1
Pumpkinseed 1
Redfin Pickerel 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Northern Green 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
Crangonyx Amphipod 38
Amphinemura Spring Stonefly 19
Parametriocnemus Non-Biting Midges 15
Cricotopus/Orthocladius Midge 7
Rheocricotopus Non-Biting Midges 7
Gammarus Amphipod 4
Polypedilum Non-Biting Midges 4
Lumbriculidae Worm 2
Isoperla Stripetail Stonefly 1
Pisidium Freshwater Pea (Pill) Clam 1
Xylotopus Midge 1
Lype Net Tube Caddisfly 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.