MBSS Site Summary for: CE-P-081-114-96


Located on LITTLE ELK CR 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 8/20/1996.

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 - 4.0 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Poor - 2.3 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 17,872 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 4.2 %
Agricultural Land Use 62.9 %
Forested Land Use 32.2 %


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 19/20 (Optimal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 16/20 (Optimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		10/20 (Marginal)
Riffle Quality 16/20 (Optimal)
Shading 75 %
Embeddedness 25 %
Several measures of instream habitat were considered 'Optimal' at this location.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 20.9 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 9.6 mg/L
pH (lab) 7.38
Conductivity 182 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		530.7 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 4.8 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 18 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
American Eel 127
Rosyside Dace 86
Common Shiner 84
Blue Ridge Sculpin 80
Longnose Dace 61
Margined Madtom 56
River Chub 56
Cutlip Minnow 41
Tessellated Darter 23
Creek Chub 12
White Sucker 7
Rosyface Shiner 6
Northern Hogsucker 5
Smallmouth Bass 2
Blacknose Dace 1
Redbreast Sunfish 1
Satinfin Shiner 1
Swallowtail Shiner 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
American Bullfrog
Eastern American Toad
Northern Dusky Salamander
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
Orthocladiinae A Non-Biting Midges 48
Prosimulium Black Fly 22
Cricotopus/Orthocladius Midge 12
Stenonema Flatheaded Mayfly 3
Caenis Mayfly 1
Dubiraphia Riffle Beetle 1
Isonychia Slate Drake Mayfly 1
Prostoia Spring Stonefly 1
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 1
Diplectrona Net-Spinning Caddisfly 1
Hydropsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 1
Stegopterna Black Fly 1
Strophopteryx Early Brown Stonefly 1
Chimarra Fingernet 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.