MBSS Site Summary for: CE-P-020-118-96


Located on WEST BR LAUREL RUN in the Little Elk Creek watershed, 8-digit code: 02130605.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/21/1996 and again in the summer on 8/8/1996.

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 Poor - 2.7 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Good - 4.0 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 947 acres A stream flowing through a densely forested area. An example of a forested stream.
Urban Land Use 5.5 %
Agricultural Land Use 32.4 %
Forested Land Use 61.5 %


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 5/20 (Poor)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 7/20 (Marginal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		14/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality 6/20 (Marginal)
Shading 70 %
Embeddedness 75 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 75%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 19.8 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 7.1 mg/L
pH (lab) 6.43
Conductivity 165 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		138.9 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 4.1 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 7 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
White Sucker 14
American Eel 8
Pumpkinseed 6
Redfin Pickerel 5
Tessellated Darter 5
Creek Chub 4
Bluegill 2
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
American Bullfrog
Eastern American Toad
Eastern Box Turtle
Northern Green Frog
Northern Ring-Necked Snake
Pickerel 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
Paracapnia Small Winter Stonefly 24
Prosimulium Black Fly 22
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 12
Stegopterna Black Fly 10
Orthocladiinae A Non-Biting Midges 8
Ostrocerca Stonefly 6
Tubificidae Aquatic Worm 4
Paratendipes European Non-Biting Midge 3
Ameletidae Minnow Mayfly 3
Centroptilum Small Minnow Mayfly 3
Eurylophella Mayfly 2
Diplectrona Net-Spinning Caddisfly 1
Rheopelopia 1
Neophylax Caddisfly 1
Leptophlebiidae Pronggilled Mayfly 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.