MBSS Site Summary for: FR-P-302-334-96


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 8/22/1996.

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 - 5.0 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Poor - 2.0 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 9,961 acres A stream flowing through a densely forested area. An example of a forested stream.
Urban Land Use 0.2 %
Agricultural Land Use 17.9 %
Forested Land Use 81.5 %


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 16/20 (Optimal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 16/20 (Optimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		16/20 (Optimal)
Riffle Quality 14/20 (Suboptimal)
Shading 82 %
Embeddedness 60 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 60%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.
Several measures of instream habitat were considered 'Optimal' at this location.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 21.8 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 8.6 mg/L
pH (lab) 7.49
Conductivity 98 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		370.2 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 1.5 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 14 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Blue Ridge Sculpin 146
Blacknose Dace 104
Longnose Dace 80
Potomac Sculpin 67
Central Stoneroller 46
Fallfish 38
Fantail Darter 27
White Sucker 11
Northern Hogsucker 8
Creek Chub 4
Rock Bass 3
Rosyside Dace 2
Green Sunfish 1
Smallmouth Bass 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Eastern American Toad
Eastern Box 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
Oemopteryx Stonefly 61
Prostoia Spring Stonefly 21
Prosimulium Black Fly 7
Diamesa Bloodworm 3
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 3
Chimarra Fingernet Caddisfly 2
Rhyacophila Free-Living Caddisfly 1
Neophylax Caddisfly 1
Diplectrona Net-Spinning Caddisfly 1
Hydropsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 1
Isonychia Slate Drake 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.