MBSS Site Summary for: CH-S-156-206-95


Located on WHEATLEY RUN in the Gilbert Swamp watershed, 8-digit code: 02140107.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/2/1995 and again in the summer on 6/14/1995.

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 Poor - 1.9 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 1,921 acres A stream flowing through a densely forested area. An example of a forested stream.
Urban Land Use 1.5 %
Agricultural Land Use 25.8 %
Forested Land Use 69 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 5/20 (Poor)
Epifaunal Substrate 5/20 (Poor)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 10/20 (Marginal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		6/20 (Marginal)
Riffle Quality 12/20 (Suboptimal)
Shading 95 %
Embeddedness 90 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 90%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 21.5 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 6.5 mg/L
pH (lab) 6.77
Conductivity 93 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		161.4 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 4 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 13 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Blacknose Dace 28
American Eel 14
Swallowtail Shiner 14
Tadpole Madtom 13
Redbreast Sunfish 11
Bluegill 7
Fallfish 7
Eastern Mudminnow 6
Tessellated Darter 3
White Sucker 2
Least Brook Lamprey 1
Margined Madtom 1
Pumpkinseed 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Eastern Box Turtle

Crayfish:
No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:
No exotic plants noted.
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 44
Prosimulium Black Fly 43
Cricotopus/Orthocladius Midge 16
Simulium Black Fly 8
Stegopterna Black Fly 5
Prostoia Spring Stonefly 4
Strophopteryx Early Brown Stonefly 2
Thienemanniella Non-Biting Midges 1
Trissopelopia Non-Biting Midges 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.