MBSS Site Summary for: CABJ-104-B-2008

Site Photos

Field photo showing stream conditions at site CABJ-104-B-2008-1 (Opens in a new window) Field photo showing stream conditions at site CABJ-104-B-2008-2 (Opens in a new window)

Located on UT CABIN JOHN CREEK in the Cabin John Creek watershed, 8-digit code: 02140207.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/24/2008 and again in the summer on 7/8/2008.

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 - 3.0 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Poor - 1.0 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 1,527 acres A highly channelized urban stream with concrete banks. An example of a highly channelized urban stream.
Urban Land Use 39.3 %
Agricultural Land Use 29.8 %
Forested Land Use 29.5 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 9/20 (Marginal)
Epifaunal Substrate 11/20 (Suboptimal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 10/20 (Marginal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 74 meters 		7/20 (Marginal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 16 meters 		8/20 (Marginal)
Shading 70 %
Embeddedness 0 %


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 22.7 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 8.8 mg/L
pH (lab) 7.55
Conductivity 289 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		1111.4 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 1.0817 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 16 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Blacknose Dace 147
Creek Chub 83
White Sucker 68
Potomac Sculpin 59
Tessellated Darter 36
Longnose Dace 17
Central Stoneroller 14
Fantail Darter 14
American Eel 7
Redbreast Sunfish 6
Rosyside Dace 6
Silverjaw Minnow 6
Common Shiner 5
Bluegill 3
Bluntnose Minnow 3
Green Sunfish 3
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Northern Green Frog
Northern Two-Lined Salamander

Crayfish:
Cambarus bartonii bartonii

Exotic Plants:
Garlic Mustard
Japanese Barberry
Japanese Stiltgrass
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Hydrobaenus Midge 36
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 33
Diplocladius Non-Biting Midges 24
Clinocera Aquatic Dance Fly 4
Orthocladiinae Midge 3
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 3
Crangonyx Amphipod 2
Chimarra Fingernet Caddisfly 2
Diamesa Bloodworm 1
Ablabesmyia Non-Biting Midge 1
Parametriocnemus Non-Biting Midges 1
Paraphaenocladius Non-Biting Midges 1
Tanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 1
Lumbriculidae Worm 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.