MBSS Site Summary for: CASS-201-H-2010

Site Photos

Field photo showing stream conditions at site CASS-201-H-2010-1 (Opens in a new window) Field photo showing stream conditions at site CASS-201-H-2010-2 (Opens in a new window)

Located on North Branch Casselman River in the Casselman River watershed, 8-digit code: 05020204.
This stream was visited in the spring on 4/6/2010 and again in the summer on 6/15/2010.

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 N R

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 9,696 acres A stream flowing through a densely forested area. An example of a forested stream.
Urban Land Use 3.7 %
Agricultural Land Use 15.4 %
Forested Land Use 78.5 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 10/20 (Marginal)
Epifaunal Substrate 9/20 (Marginal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 11/20 (Suboptimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 75 meters 		12/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 37 meters 		11/20 (Suboptimal)
Shading 85 %
Embeddedness 70 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 70%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.


Stream Water Quality:
pH (lab) 6.68
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		67.8 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 1.7909 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 7 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Creek Chub 27
Blacknose Dace 10
Rock Bass 10
River Chub 8
Northern Hogsucker 7
Longnose Dace 1
White Sucker 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Northern Dusky Salamander
Northern Red Belly Snake
Northern Two-Lined Salamander
Wood Frog

Crayfish:
Cambarus carinirostris
Cambarus dubius

Exotic Plants:
Multiflora Rose
 

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.