MBSS Site Summary for: CE-P-012-212-96


Located on PRINCIPIO CR in the Furnace Bay watershed, 8-digit code: 02130609.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/14/1996 and again in the summer on 7/29/1996.

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 Good - 4.7 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Fair - 3.7 / 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 4,919 acres Cows standing in a stream at a site with high agricultural land use. Cows survey the sampling procedure at this extreme example of a highly agriculturalized site.
Urban Land Use 0.1 %
Agricultural Land Use 80.3 %
Forested Land Use 19.1 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 17/20 (Optimal)
Epifaunal Substrate 6/20 (Marginal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 16/20 (Optimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		15/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality 14/20 (Suboptimal)
Shading 50 %
Embeddedness 40 %


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 19.5 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 9.7 mg/L
pH (lab) 7.77
Conductivity 156 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		408.5 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 2.9 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 17 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Cutlip Minnow 233
Rosyside Dace 120
Margined Madtom 117
American Eel 81
Blacknose Dace 74
Common Shiner 58
River Chub 50
Creek Chub 47
Swallowtail Shiner 27
Tessellated Darter 22
Satinfin Shiner 17
Northern Hogsucker 14
White Sucker 10
Blue Ridge Sculpin 4
Bluegill 2
Brown Trout 1
Redbreast Sunfish 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Northern Dusky Salamander

Crayfish:
Orconectes limosus

Exotic Plants:
No exotic plants noted.
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Chimarra Fingernet Caddisfly 37
Prosimulium Black Fly 23
Parametriocnemus Non-Biting Midges 9
Cricotopus/Orthocladius Midge 5
Strophopteryx Early Brown Stonefly 4
Stenonema Flatheaded Mayfly 3
Psephenus Water Penny 3
Ephemerella Sulphur Mayfly 2
Optioservus Riffle Beetle 2
Hydropsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 2
Stenelmis Beetle 2
Diamesa Bloodworm 1
Conchapelopia Non-Biting Midges 1
Acroneuria Golden Stoneflies 1
Isonychia Slate Drake Mayfly 1
Polypedilum 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.