MBSS Site Summary for: CH-S-016-225-95


Located on CLARK RUN in the Zekiah Swamp watershed, 8-digit code: 02140108.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/10/1995 and again in the summer on 6/28/1995.

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 Fair - 3.7 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Good - 5.0 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 7,388 acres A stream flowing through a densely forested area. An example of a forested stream.
Urban Land Use 10 %
Agricultural Land Use 19.1 %
Forested Land Use 60.3 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 11/20 (Suboptimal)
Epifaunal Substrate 7/20 (Marginal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 13/20 (Suboptimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		12/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality 15/20 (Suboptimal)
Shading 90 %
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 20 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 7.7 mg/L
pH (lab) 6.27
Conductivity 91 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		98.2 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 6 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 11 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Fallfish 29
Eastern Mudminnow 23
Tessellated Darter 21
Rosyside Dace 13
White Sucker 10
Redfin Pickerel 8
Pirate Perch 3
American Eel 2
Least Brook Lamprey 1
Margined Madtom 1
Pumpkinseed 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Northern Two-Lined Salamander

Crayfish:
No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:
No exotic plants noted.
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Gammarus Amphipod 14
Ephemerella Sulphur Mayfly 13
Prosimulium Black Fly 10
Orthocladiinae A Non-Biting Midges 7
Oulimnius Riffle Beetle 6
Optioservus Riffle Beetle 4
Neophylax Caddisfly 4
Clioperla Green-Winged Stonefly 4
Cricotopus/Orthocladius Midge 3
Clinocera Aquatic Dance Fly 3
Acerpenna Tiny Blue-Winged Olive Mayflies 3
Limnephilidae Northern Casemaker Caddisfly 3
Prostoia Spring Stonefly 2
Bezzia Biting Midge 2
Strophopteryx Early Brown Stonefly 2
Pycnopsyche Great Autumn Brown Sedge Caddisfly 2
Chloroperlidae Green Stonefly 2
Glossosoma Little Black Caddisfly 1
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 1
Diplectrona Net-Spinning Caddisfly 1
Conchapelopia Non-Biting Midges 1
Eukiefferiella Non-Biting Midges 1
Stenochironomus European Non-Biting Midge 1
Physa Air-Breathing Freshwater Snail 1
Stenelmis Beetle 1
Oemopteryx Stonefly 1
Isoperla Stripetail Stonefly 1
Amphinemura Spring Stonefly 1
Dubiraphia Riffle Beetle 1
Tanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 1
Eccoptura Yellow Stone Stonefly 1
Agapetus Tiny Black Short-Horned 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.