MBSS Site Summary for: CH-S-194-321-95


Located on GILBERT SWAMP RUN in the Gilbert Swamp watershed, 8-digit code: 02140107.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/14/1995 and again in the summer on 6/19/1995.

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 - 3.3 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Good - 4.1 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 21,940 acres A stream flowing through a densely forested area. An example of a forested stream.
Urban Land Use 5.5 %
Agricultural Land Use 33.9 %
Forested Land Use 59.3 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat

Instream Habitat 8/20 (Marginal)
Epifaunal Substrate 14/20 (Suboptimal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 7/20 (Marginal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters
8/20 (Marginal)
Riffle Quality 17/20 (Optimal)
Shading 45 %
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 26.8 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 8.5 mg/L
pH (lab) 6.71
Conductivity 116 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity)
189.6 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 5 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 17 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
White Sucker 73
American Eel 53
Margined Madtom 44
Fallfish 35
Spottail Shiner 27
Tessellated Darter 24
Redbreast Sunfish 23
Bluegill 9
Eastern Mudminnow 6
Satinfin Shiner 5
Blacknose Dace 4
Swallowtail Shiner 4
Tadpole Madtom 3
Yellow Bullhead 3
Golden Shiner 1
Pumpkinseed 1
Rosyside Dace 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:

American Bullfrog
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
Ephemerella Sulphur Mayfly 23
Stenelmis Beetle 18
Prosimulium Black Fly 10
Hydropsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 9
Perlodidae Perlodid Stonefly 7
Chloroperlidae Green Stonefly 7
Acerpenna Tiny Blue-Winged Olive Mayflies 6
Microtendipes Non-Biting Midges 6
Strophopteryx Early Brown Stonefly 3
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 2
Chelifera Aquatic Dance Fly 2
Psephenus Water Penny 2
Prostoia Spring Stonefly 2
Oemopteryx Stonefly 2
Tvetenia Non-Biting Midges 1
Eukiefferiella Non-Biting Midges 1
Sublettea 1
Pseudolimnophila Crane Fly 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.