MBSS Site Summary for: CE-P-999-105-96


Located on WEST BR in the Christina River watershed, 8-digit code: 02130607.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/20/1996 and again in the summer on 7/23/1996.

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 Poor - 2.3 / 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 886 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 2.3 %
Agricultural Land Use 56.7 %
Forested Land Use 40 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 13/20 (Suboptimal)
Epifaunal Substrate 6/20 (Marginal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 13/20 (Suboptimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		15/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality 7/20 (Marginal)
Shading 85 %
Embeddedness 65 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 65%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 18.5 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 9.3 mg/L
pH (lab) 6.45
Conductivity 135 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		185.4 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 6.7 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 10 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Tessellated Darter 26
Blacknose Dace 19
Redbreast Sunfish 19
Eastern Mudminnow 14
Fallfish 8
White Sucker 8
Bluegill 4
Chain Pickerel 4
American Eel 2
Largemouth Bass 2
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
American Bullfrog
Northern Two-Lined Salamander

Crayfish:
Orconectes limosus

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 40
Prosimulium Black Fly 21
Cricotopus/Orthocladius Midge 10
Hydrobaenus Midge 6
Prostoia Spring Stonefly 4
Sphaerium Fingernail Clam 3
Baetidae Small Minnow Mayfly 2
Lumbriculidae Worm 2
Diptera True Fly 1
Paratanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 1
Sympotthastia Non-Biting Midges 1
Ptilostomis Giant Casemaker Caddisfly 1
Nigronia Megaloptera (Dark Fishfly) 1
Ameletus Combmouthed Minnow Mayfly 1
Pilaria 1
Stygobromus Amphipod 1
Spirosperma Aquatic Oligochaete Worm 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.