MBSS Site Summary for: FIMI-409-H-2009


Located on Fifteen Mile Creek 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 8/10/2009.

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 39,484 acres A highly channelized urban stream with concrete banks. An example of a highly channelized urban stream.
Urban Land Use 5.9 %
Agricultural Land Use 4.8 %
Forested Land Use 89.3 %


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 16/20 (Optimal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 13/20 (Suboptimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 61 meters 		15/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 18 meters 		15/20 (Suboptimal)
Shading 50 %
Embeddedness 0 %


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 24.2 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 7.4 mg/L
Conductivity 205 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 21 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Central Stoneroller 53
Green Sunfish 32
Rainbow Darter 28
Longnose Dace 26
Bluntnose Minnow 17
Smallmouth Bass 17
Rock Bass 16
Fallfish 15
River Chub 15
Redbreast Sunfish 10
Greenside Darter 8
Fantail Darter 7
Yellow Bullhead 7
Bluegill 6
Common Shiner 6
Potomac Sculpin 6
Blacknose Dace 3
Spotfin Shiner 2
Creek Chub 1
Longear Sunfish 1
Pumpkinseed 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Northern Watersnake
Pickerel Frog

Crayfish:
Orconectes virilis

Exotic Plants:
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.