MBSS Site Summary for: FR-P-335-110-96


Located on MONOCACY R UT1 in the Lower Monocacy River watershed, 8-digit code: 02140302.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/6/1996 and again in the summer on 6/6/1996.

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 - 3.3 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Poor - 1.8 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 502 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 21.7 %
Agricultural Land Use 72.7 %
Forested Land Use 5 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 10/20 (Marginal)
Epifaunal Substrate 1/20 (Poor)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 7/20 (Marginal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		16/20 (Optimal)
Riffle Quality 4/20 (Poor)
Shading 40 %
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 16 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 5.8 mg/L
pH (lab) 7.7
Conductivity 68 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		4148 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 5 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Bluntnose Minnow 164
Blacknose Dace 42
Creek Chub 30
Fantail Darter 10
Central Stoneroller 2
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Northern Two-Lined Salamander

Crayfish:
Orconectes virilis

Exotic Plants:
No exotic plants noted.
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Gammarus Amphipod 23
Optioservus Riffle Beetle 11
Cricotopus Non-Biting Midges 8
Limonia 4
Lirceus Isopod 2
Chelifera Aquatic Dance Fly 2
Stenelmis Beetle 2
Antocha Crane Fly 1
Heterotrissocladius European Non-Biting Midge 1
Stictochironomus Non-Biting Midge 1
Chironomus Non-Biting Midges 1
Limnodrilus Worm 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.