MBSS Site Summary for: CR-P-020-208-96


Located on LIBERTY RES UT1 in the Liberty Reservoir watershed, 8-digit code: 02130907.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/18/1996 and again in the summer on 6/24/1996.

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 - 4.0 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Poor - 2.3 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
(Hint: Screen readers will announce definitions; mouse users can hover over dotted text.)
Catchment area 1,318 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 6.6 %
Agricultural Land Use 67.6 %
Forested Land Use 24.7 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 17/20 (Optimal)
Epifaunal Substrate 12/20 (Suboptimal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 14/20 (Suboptimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		16/20 (Optimal)
Riffle Quality 13/20 (Suboptimal)
Shading 80 %
Embeddedness 60 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 60%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 19.9 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 8.9 mg/L
pH (lab) 7.44
Conductivity 138 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		517.4 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 1.6 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 12 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Blue Ridge Sculpin 126
Bluegill 103
Bluntnose Minnow 35
White Sucker 20
Rosyside Dace 14
Pumpkinseed 12
Longnose Dace 10
Creek Chub 7
Tessellated Darter 6
Green Sunfish 3
Cutlip Minnow 1
Redbreast Sunfish 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
American Bullfrog
Northern Green Frog
Northern Two-Lined Salamander
Wood Frog

Crayfish:
Orconectes virilis

Exotic Plants:
No exotic plants noted.
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Cricotopus Non-Biting Midges 62
Tanypodinae Non-Biting Midges 6
Prosimulium Black Fly 5
Paratrichocladius 3
Hemerodromia Tiny Fly 3
Hydropsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 2
Nigronia Megaloptera (Dark Fishfly) 2
Orthocladiinae Midge 2
Chimarra Fingernet Caddisfly 2
Stenonema Flatheaded Mayfly 1
Acroneuria Golden Stoneflies 1
Dicranota Hairy-Eyed Cranefly 1
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 1
Tipula Crane Fly 1
Boyeria Spotted Darner Dragonfly 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.