MBSS Site Summary for: FR-P-258-202-96


Located on FISHING 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 8/20/1996.

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 - 3.7 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Poor - 2.8 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
(Hint: Screen readers will announce definitions; mouse users can hover over dotted text.)
Catchment area 5,107 acres Cows standing in a stream at a site with high agricultural land use. Cows survey the sampling procedure at this extreme example of a highly agriculturalized site.
Urban Land Use 0.5 %
Agricultural Land Use 73.9 %
Forested Land Use 23.2 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 8/20 (Marginal)
Epifaunal Substrate 3/20 (Poor)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 17/20 (Optimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		17/20 (Optimal)
Riffle Quality 12/20 (Suboptimal)
Shading 95 %
Embeddedness 80 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 80%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 20.8 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 8.1 mg/L
pH (lab) 7.57
Conductivity 60 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		514.8 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 5 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 24 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Bluntnose Minnow 234
Spottail Shiner 91
Potomac Sculpin 60
Redbreast Sunfish 31
Common Shiner 30
Spotfin Shiner 29
Tessellated Darter 28
Longnose Dace 16
Greenside Darter 11
Fallfish 10
Blacknose Dace 9
Bluegill 7
White Sucker 4
Yellow Bullhead 3
Creek Chub 2
Green Sunfish 2
Rock Bass 2
Central Stoneroller 1
Fantail Darter 1
Largemouth Bass 1
Longear Sunfish 1
Pumpkinseed 1
Silverjaw Minnow 1
Smallmouth Bass 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
No amphibians and reptiles noted.

Crayfish:
No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:
No exotic plants noted.
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Paracapnia Small Winter Stonefly 43
Prosimulium Black Fly 10
Cricotopus/Orthocladius Midge 9
Enchytraeidae Aquatic Worm 5
Optioservus Riffle Beetle 5
Isonychia Slate Drake Mayfly 5
Hemerodromia Tiny Fly 5
Hydrobaenus Midge 4
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 3
Microtendipes Non-Biting Midges 2
Stenelmis Beetle 2
Leucrocuta Mayfly 2
Ephemerella Sulphur Mayfly 2
Anthopotamus Golden Drake Mayfly 1
Caecidotea Isopod 1
Parametriocnemus Non-Biting Midges 1
Dubiraphia 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.