MBSS Site Summary for: CONO-105-R-2002

Site Photos

Located on CONOCOCHEAGUE CR UT 2 in the Conococheague Creek watershed, 8-digit code: 02140504.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/19/2002 and again in the summer on 7/8/2002.

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 - 1.0 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Poor - 1.5 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 2,592 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 28 %
Agricultural Land Use 62 %
Forested Land Use 9 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 6/20 (Marginal)
Epifaunal Substrate 4/20 (Poor)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 8/20 (Marginal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 13 meters 		7/20 (Marginal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 65 meters 		13/20 (Suboptimal)
Shading 30 %
Embeddedness 75 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 75%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 26.8 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 5.4 mg/L
pH (lab) 8.21
Conductivity 750 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		5234 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 4.9 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 1 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Bluntnose Minnow 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
No amphibians and reptiles noted.

Crayfish:
No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:
Canada Thistle
Japanese Honeysuckle
Multiflora Rose
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Lirceus Isopod 180
Girardia Freshwater Flatworm 9
Parakiefferiella European Non-Biting Midge 2
Orthocladius 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.