MBSS Site Summary for: FR-P-261-122-96


Located on HUNTING CR UT1 in the Upper Monocacy River watershed, 8-digit code: 02140303.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/13/1996 and again in the summer on 6/12/1996.

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 - 4.0 / 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 719 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 2.9 %
Agricultural Land Use 81.6 %
Forested Land Use 15 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 3/20 (Poor)
Epifaunal Substrate 2/20 (Poor)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 6/20 (Marginal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		16/20 (Optimal)
Riffle Quality 11/20 (Suboptimal)
Shading 50 %
Embeddedness 65 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 65%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 22.5 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 8.1 mg/L
pH (lab) 7.28
Conductivity 132 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		353.1 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 2.2 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 9 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Fantail Darter 29
Blacknose Dace 27
Bluntnose Minnow 20
Green Sunfish 10
Bluegill 4
Redbreast Sunfish 4
Blue Ridge Sculpin 2
Creek Chub 1
Potomac Sculpin 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
American Bullfrog
Northern Green Frog
Northern Red Salamander

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 39
Stegopterna Black Fly 37
Capniidae Small Winter Stonefly 6
Parametriocnemus Non-Biting Midges 4
Conchapelopia Non-Biting Midges 3
Physa Air-Breathing Freshwater Snail 2
Eukiefferiella Non-Biting Midges 1
Corydalus Dobsonfly 1
Heleniella European Non-Biting Midge 1
Pisidium Freshwater Pea (Pill) Clam 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.