MBSS Site Summary for: FR-P-214-342-96


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 8/26/1996.

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 - 4.7 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Poor - 1.5 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 25,485 acres A stream flowing through a densely forested area. An example of a forested stream.
Urban Land Use 0.4 %
Agricultural Land Use 45.1 %
Forested Land Use 53.9 %


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 4/20 (Poor)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 16/20 (Optimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		15/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality 12/20 (Suboptimal)
Shading 65 %
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) 8.7 mg/L
pH (lab) 7.62
Conductivity 140 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		556.7 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 20 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Potomac Sculpin 268
Longnose Dace 223
Fantail Darter 108
Greenside Darter 96
Central Stoneroller 66
Bluntnose Minnow 55
Blacknose Dace 38
Creek Chub 13
Fallfish 13
Rock Bass 7
White Sucker 6
Margined Madtom 5
Spotfin Shiner 4
Redbreast Sunfish 3
Smallmouth Bass 3
Spottail Shiner 3
Common Shiner 2
Bluegill 1
River Chub 1
Yellow Bullhead 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Eastern Box Turtle
Eastern Snapping Turtle
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 28
Allocapnia Small Winter Stonefly 13
Clinocera Aquatic Dance Fly 7
Prostoia Spring Stonefly 4
Optioservus Riffle Beetle 4
Eukiefferiella Non-Biting Midges 3
Strophopteryx Early Brown Stonefly 3
Isonychia Slate Drake Mayfly 2
Chimarra Fingernet Caddisfly 1
Stenonema Flatheaded Mayfly 1
Cricotopus/Orthocladius Midge 1
Parametriocnemus Non-Biting Midges 1
Tipula Crane Fly 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.