MBSS Site Summary for: FIMI-304-H-2009


Located on White Sulpher Run in the Fifteen Mile Creek watershed, 8-digit code: 02140511.
This stream was visited in the spring on 4/7/2009 and again in the summer on 8/11/2009.

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 N R
Benthic IBI N R

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 4,024 acres A highly channelized urban stream with concrete banks. An example of a highly channelized urban stream.
Urban Land Use 3.8 %
Agricultural Land Use 1.3 %
Forested Land Use 95 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 11/20 (Suboptimal)
Epifaunal Substrate 10/20 (Marginal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 7/20 (Marginal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 71 meters 		12/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 0 meters 		0/20 (Poor)
Shading 80 %
Embeddedness 100 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 100%. This is very high, and may adversely affect biotic communities.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 20.9 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 7.3 mg/L
Conductivity 51 µmho/cm

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 7 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Potomac Sculpin 73
Blacknose Dace 60
Creek Chub 33
White Sucker 9
Fantail Darter 8
Central Stoneroller 2
Green Sunfish 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Allegheny Mountain Dusky Salamander
Northern Green Frog
Northern Two-Lined Salamander
Wood Frog

Crayfish:
Cambarus bartonii bartonii

Exotic Plants:
Japanese Stiltgrass
Multiflora Rose
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Benthic data unavailable.
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.