MBSS Site Summary for: FR-P-093-237-96


Located on TUSCARORA CR in the Upper Monocacy River watershed, 8-digit code: 02140303.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/6/1996 and again in the summer on 6/4/1996.

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 Fair - 3.3 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Poor - 2.0 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 7,693 acres A stream flowing through a densely forested area. An example of a forested stream.
Urban Land Use 0.1 %
Agricultural Land Use 9.6 %
Forested Land Use 89.4 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 14/20 (Suboptimal)
Epifaunal Substrate 5/20 (Poor)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 9/20 (Marginal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		11/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality 11/20 (Suboptimal)
Shading 35 %
Embeddedness 60 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 60%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 20.5 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 9.5 mg/L
pH (lab) 8.05
Conductivity 190 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		1109 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 5.8 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
Bluntnose Minnow 587
Redbreast Sunfish 144
Blacknose Dace 98
Fantail Darter 14
Yellow Bullhead 5
Banded Killifish 4
Longnose Dace 3
Potomac Sculpin 3
Creek Chub 2
Bluegill 1
Green Sunfish 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Eastern Snapping Turtle

Crayfish:
Orconectes virilis

Exotic Plants:
No exotic plants noted.
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Prosimulium Black Fly 33
Conchapelopia Non-Biting Midges 13
Stenelmis Beetle 9
Parametriocnemus Non-Biting Midges 7
Sympotthastia Non-Biting Midges 6
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 6
Tanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 5
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 5
Simulium Black Fly 5
Pseudolimnophila Crane Fly 2
Heterotrissocladius European Non-Biting Midge 1
Chimarra Fingernet Caddisfly 1
Hydropsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 1
Corynoneura Non-Biting Midges 1
Microtendipes Non-Biting Midges 1
Pisidiidae Pill Clam 1
Optioservus Riffle Beetle 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.