MBSS Site Summary for: DEER-342-A-2007

Site Photos

Field photo showing stream conditions at site DEER-342-A-2007-1 (Opens in a new window) Field photo showing stream conditions at site DEER-342-A-2007-2 (Opens in a new window)

Located on Deer Creek in the Deer Creek watershed, 8-digit code: 02120202.
This stream was visited in the spring on 4/23/2007 and again in the summer on 7/16/2007.

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 Good - 4.0 / 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 29,061 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 4 %
Agricultural Land Use 65.1 %
Forested Land Use 29.8 %


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 7/20 (Marginal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 11/20 (Suboptimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 75 meters 		12/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 20 meters 		11/20 (Suboptimal)
Shading 65 %
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 20.7 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 8.8 mg/L
pH (lab) 7.53
Conductivity 191 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		370.6 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 0.7279 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 18 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Fallfish 148
Northern Hogsucker 88
Creek Chub 60
Tessellated Darter 42
White Sucker 41
Cutlip Minnow 40
Redbreast Sunfish 32
Blue Ridge Sculpin 31
Margined Madtom 21
American Eel 20
Blacknose Dace 19
River Chub 13
Common Shiner 6
Green Sunfish 3
Smallmouth Bass 3
Longnose Dace 2
Rock Bass 2
Rosyface Shiner 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
American Bullfrog
Eastern American Toad
Northern Green Frog
Northern Two-Lined Salamander
Pickerel Frog

Crayfish:
Orconectes limosus

Exotic Plants:
Japanese Honeysuckle
Japanese Stiltgrass
Mile-A-Minute
Multiflora Rose
Oriental Bittersweet
Privet
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Stenonema Flatheaded Mayfly 14
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 13
Polypedilum Non-Biting Midges 12
Ephemerella Sulphur Mayfly 12
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 7
Hydropsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 6
Cricotopus Non-Biting Midges 6
Neophylax Caddisfly 5
Heptageniidae Flathead Mayfly 4
Antocha Crane Fly 3
Microtendipes Non-Biting Midges 3
Ephemerellidae Spiny Crawler Mayfly 2
Tanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 2
Thienemannimyia group Non-Biting Midges 2
Empididae Dance Fly 2
Perlidae Common Stonefly 2
Lepidostoma Little Brown Sedge Caddisfly 2
Nigronia Megaloptera (Dark Fishfly) 1
Diplectrona Net-Spinning Caddisfly 1
Haploperla Green Stonefly 1
Gomphidae Clubtail Dragonfly 1
Ophiogomphus 1
Sublettea 1
Leuctra  Rolled-Winged Stonefly 1
Clinocera Aquatic Dance Fly 1
Naididae Aquatic Worm 1
Simulium Black Fly 1
Dubiraphia Riffle Beetle 1
Micropsectra Non-Biting Midges 1
Potthastia Non-Biting Midges 1
Rheosmittia Non-Biting Midges 1
Tanytarsini Non-Biting Midges 1
Amphinemura Spring Stonefly 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.