MBSS Site Summary for: FR-P-288-133-96


Located on HIGH RUN 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 6/5/1996.

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 Poor - 2.5 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Fair - 3.0 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 1,037 acres A stream flowing through a densely forested area. An example of a forested stream.
Urban Land Use 4.3 %
Agricultural Land Use 6.9 %
Forested Land Use 88.6 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 12/20 (Suboptimal)
Epifaunal Substrate 4/20 (Poor)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 14/20 (Suboptimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		16/20 (Optimal)
Riffle Quality 14/20 (Suboptimal)
Shading 97 %
Embeddedness 55 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 55%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 16.5 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 8.7 mg/L
pH (lab) 7.33
Conductivity 75 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		292.8 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 11 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Potomac Sculpin 112
Blacknose Dace 104
Rosyside Dace 79
Blue Ridge Sculpin 57
Creek Chub 28
White Sucker 23
Fallfish 10
Fantail Darter 5
Greenside Darter 2
Lepomis Hybrid 1
Longnose Dace 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
No amphibians and reptiles noted.

Crayfish:
Cambarus bartonii bartonii
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 24
Sympotthastia Non-Biting Midges 13
Stenonema Flatheaded Mayfly 11
Oulimnius Riffle Beetle 10
Diplectrona Net-Spinning Caddisfly 7
Parametriocnemus Non-Biting Midges 5
Prostoia Spring Stonefly 4
Stenacron Mayfly 4
Neophylax Caddisfly 4
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 2
Isonychia Slate Drake Mayfly 2
Capniidae Small Winter Stonefly 1
Stegopterna Black Fly 1
Hydropsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 1
Eukiefferiella Non-Biting Midges 1
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 1
Antocha Crane Fly 1
Tipula Crane Fly 1
Chimarra Fingernet Caddisfly 1
Rhyacophila Free-Living Caddisfly 1
Epeorus Mayfly 1
Eurylophella Mayfly 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.