MBSS Site Summary for: CH-S-292-211-95


Located on OLD WOMANS RUN in the Mattawoman Creek watershed, 8-digit code: 02140111.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/7/1995 and again in the summer on 8/14/1995.

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 Good - 4.3 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Good - 4.7 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 3,686 acres A stream flowing through a densely forested area. An example of a forested stream.
Urban Land Use 9.1 %
Agricultural Land Use 15.1 %
Forested Land Use 75.8 %


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 6/20 (Marginal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 7/20 (Marginal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		12/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality 0/20 (Poor)
Shading 88 %
Embeddedness 80 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 80%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 26.3 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 3.1 mg/L
Dissolved oxygen levels measured in the stream were very low (3.1 mg/L). Many fishes and other aquatic animals cannot tolerate low levels of oxygen in the water.
pH (lab) 6.61
Conductivity 138 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		108.7 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 3 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 20 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Creek Chub 91
Blacknose Dace 87
Bluegill 69
Creek Chubsucker 47
Eastern Mudminnow 39
Rosyside Dace 27
Pumpkinseed 24
White Sucker 22
Margined Madtom 17
Pirate Perch 14
Sea Lamprey 13
Tessellated Darter 11
Least Brook Lamprey 5
American Eel 4
Largemouth Bass 4
Chain Pickerel 3
Golden Shiner 3
Common Shiner 2
Fathead Minnow 2
Tadpole Madtom 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Eastern Snapping Turtle
Northern Green Frog
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
Prosimulium Black Fly 24
Ephemerella Sulphur Mayfly 19
Strophopteryx Early Brown Stonefly 15
Serratella Mayfly 12
Oulimnius Riffle Beetle 8
Acerpenna Tiny Blue-Winged Olive Mayflies 8
Optioservus Riffle Beetle 6
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 6
Isoperla Stripetail Stonefly 5
Eukiefferiella Non-Biting Midges 5
Rheotanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 5
Amphinemura Spring Stonefly 4
Neophylax Caddisfly 4
Crangonyx Amphipod 3
Hydropsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 3
Stenelmis Beetle 2
Micropsectra Non-Biting Midges 2
Eccoptura Yellow Stone Stonefly 2
Shipsa 1
Antocha Crane Fly 1
Triaenodes Long-Horned Caddisfly 1
Eurylophella Mayfly 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.