MBSS Site Summary for: CR-P-260-210-96


Located on BEAVER RUN in the Liberty Reservoir watershed, 8-digit code: 02130907.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/12/1996 and again in the summer on 6/18/1996.

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 - 5.0 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Poor - 2.7 / 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 1,693 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 11.7 %
Agricultural Land Use 72.8 %
Forested Land Use 15.6 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 15/20 (Suboptimal)
Epifaunal Substrate 10/20 (Marginal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 10/20 (Marginal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		15/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality 12/20 (Suboptimal)
Shading 50 %
Embeddedness 65 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 65%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 20.7 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 8.6 mg/L
pH (lab) 7.33
Conductivity 267 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		568.3 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 1.5 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 11 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Blue Ridge Sculpin 362
Blacknose Dace 159
White Sucker 61
Rosyside Dace 59
Central Stoneroller 48
Bluntnose Minnow 38
Longnose Dace 25
Tessellated Darter 8
Creek Chub 7
Cutlip Minnow 2
Common Shiner 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Eastern Snapping Turtle
Northern Two-Lined Salamander

Crayfish:
Orconectes virilis

Exotic Plants:
No exotic plants noted.
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Optioservus Riffle Beetle 26
Cricotopus/Orthocladius Midge 20
Chimarra Fingernet Caddisfly 10
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 9
Sympotthastia Non-Biting Midges 8
Stenelmis Beetle 6
Conchapelopia Non-Biting Midges 5
Prosimulium Black Fly 3
Anchytarsus Beetle 3
Hemerodromia Tiny Fly 3
Antocha Crane Fly 2
Dubiraphia Riffle Beetle 2
Parametriocnemus Non-Biting Midges 2
Rhyacophila Free-Living Caddisfly 1
Dicranota Hairy-Eyed Cranefly 1
Eurylophella Mayfly 1
Ephemerella Sulphur 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.