MBSS Site Summary for: FR-P-034-228-96


Located on LITTLE HUNTING CR in the Upper Monocacy River watershed, 8-digit code: 02140303.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/25/1996 and again in the summer on 8/21/1996.

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 - 4.3 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Fair - 3.3 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 4,874 acres A stream flowing through a densely forested area. An example of a forested stream.
Urban Land Use 0.1 %
Agricultural Land Use 1.3 %
Forested Land Use 98.2 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 16/20 (Optimal)
Epifaunal Substrate 16/20 (Optimal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 12/20 (Suboptimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		12/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality 16/20 (Optimal)
Shading 85 %
Embeddedness 73 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 73%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.
Several measures of instream habitat were considered 'Optimal' at this location.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 17.2 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 8.7 mg/L
pH (lab) 6.86
Conductivity 42 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		131.9 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 1.2 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 7 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Blacknose Dace 219
Blue Ridge Sculpin 112
Potomac Sculpin 44
Longnose Dace 15
Fantail Darter 14
Brown Trout 11
White Sucker 5
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Eastern American Toad

Crayfish:
Cambaridae

Exotic Plants:
No exotic plants noted.
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Prosimulium Black Fly 49
Ephemerella Sulphur Mayfly 14
Oemopteryx Stonefly 5
Eukiefferiella Non-Biting Midges 3
Baetis Blue-Winged Olive Mayfly 3
Acroneuria Golden Stoneflies 3
Epeorus Mayfly 3
Stenonema Flatheaded Mayfly 2
Rhyacophila Free-Living Caddisfly 2
Sweltsa Stonefly 2
Oulimnius Riffle Beetle 2
Promoresia Riffle Beetle 1
Rheocricotopus Non-Biting Midges 1
Leptophlebiidae Pronggilled Mayfly 1
Diplectrona Net-Spinning Caddisfly 1
Hydropsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 1
Neophylax Caddisfly 1
Chimarra Fingernet Caddisfly 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.