MBSS Site Summary for: FR-P-214-303-96


Located on OWENS CR in the Upper Monocacy River watershed, 8-digit code: 02140303.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/14/1996 and again in the summer on 8/27/1996.

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 - 5.0 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Poor - 2.3 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 25,147 acres A stream flowing through a densely forested area. An example of a forested stream.
Urban Land Use 0.4 %
Agricultural Land Use 44.6 %
Forested Land Use 54.3 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 19/20 (Optimal)
Epifaunal Substrate 15/20 (Suboptimal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 14/20 (Suboptimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		19/20 (Optimal)
Riffle Quality 16/20 (Optimal)
Shading 70 %
Embeddedness 55 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 55%. 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 20 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 7.6 mg/L
pH (lab) 7.81
Conductivity 140 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		554.7 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 1.7 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 21 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Potomac Sculpin 150
Bluntnose Minnow 92
Central Stoneroller 86
Longnose Dace 66
Greenside Darter 65
Fantail Darter 35
White Sucker 20
Blacknose Dace 15
Creek Chub 12
Fallfish 12
Redbreast Sunfish 12
Common Shiner 11
Rock Bass 10
Spottail Shiner 9
Smallmouth Bass 7
Bluegill 3
Margined Madtom 3
Silverjaw Minnow 3
Spotfin Shiner 2
American Eel 1
Yellow Bullhead 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Eastern American Toad
Eastern Box Turtle
Fowler's Toad
Northern Green Frog

Crayfish:
No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:
No exotic plants noted.
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Prosimulium Black Fly 45
Allocapnia Small Winter Stonefly 24
Prostoia Spring Stonefly 8
Oemopteryx Stonefly 7
Strophopteryx Early Brown Stonefly 4
Stenonema Flatheaded Mayfly 2
Cricotopus/Orthocladius Midge 2
Eukiefferiella Non-Biting Midges 2
Clinocera Aquatic Dance Fly 2
Isonychia Slate Drake Mayfly 2
Baetidae Small Minnow Mayfly 1
Stygobromus Amphipod 1
Neophylax Caddisfly 1
Parametriocnemus Non-Biting Midges 1
Thienemanniella Non-Biting Midges 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.