MBSS Site Summary for: CE-P-085-931-97


Located on Gramies Run in the Big Elk Creek watershed, 8-digit code: 02130606.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/11/1997 and again in the summer on 6/30/1997.

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 N R
Benthic IBI N R

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area No data available 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 No data available
Agricultural Land Use No data available
Forested Land Use No data available


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 18/20 (Optimal)
Epifaunal Substrate 14/20 (Suboptimal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 15/20 (Suboptimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		14/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality 17/20 (Optimal)
Shading 90 %
Embeddedness 55 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 55%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 18.4 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 8.8 mg/L
pH (lab) 7.37
Conductivity 157 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		348.2551 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 2.497 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
White Sucker 422
Blue Ridge Sculpin 375
Blacknose Dace 124
Creek Chub 87
Longnose Dace 54
Rosyside Dace 32
Tessellated Darter 27
American Eel 26
Common Shiner 9
Cutlip Minnow 8
Margined Madtom 5
River Chub 5
Brown Trout 2
Fallfish 2
Eastern Mudminnow 1
Northern Hogsucker 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Eastern American Toad
Fowler's Toad
Northern Green Frog
Northern Two-Lined Salamander

Crayfish:
Orconectes limosus

Exotic Plants:
No exotic plants noted.
 

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.