MBSS Site Summary for: FR-P-258-243-96


Located on FISHING 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 Fair - 3.7 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Poor - 1.8 / 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 5,046 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 14/20 (Suboptimal)
Epifaunal Substrate 3/20 (Poor)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 17/20 (Optimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		18/20 (Optimal)
Riffle Quality 15/20 (Suboptimal)
Shading 75 %
Embeddedness 75 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 75%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 19 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 7.6 mg/L
pH (lab) 7.28
Conductivity 70 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		237.8 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 1.9 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 18 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Bluntnose Minnow 95
Potomac Sculpin 63
Common Shiner 56
Blacknose Dace 22
Fallfish 21
White Sucker 15
Spottail Shiner 13
Longnose Dace 11
Silverjaw Minnow 11
Bluegill 7
Redbreast Sunfish 7
Spotfin Shiner 5
Creek Chub 3
Tessellated Darter 3
Northern Hogsucker 2
Central Stoneroller 1
Cutlip Minnow 1
Pumpkinseed 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Eastern Painted Turtle

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 84
Cricotopus/Orthocladius Midge 8
Paratanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 3
Eukiefferiella Non-Biting Midges 2
Parametriocnemus Non-Biting Midges 2
Mystacides 1
Isonychia Slate Drake Mayfly 1
Amphinemura Spring Stonefly 1
Ephemerella Sulphur Mayfly 1
Psephenus Water Penny 1
Chironomidae Non-Biting Midge 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.