MBSS Site Summary for: FR-P-354-321-96


Located on TUSCARORA CR in the Potomac River FR Cnty watershed, 8-digit code: 02140301.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/12/1996 and again in the summer on 8/20/1996.

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.
(Hint: Screen readers will announce definitions; mouse users can hover over dotted text.)
Catchment area 12,770 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 2.4 %
Agricultural Land Use 73.7 %
Forested Land Use 22.9 %


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 2/20 (Poor)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 16/20 (Optimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		18/20 (Optimal)
Riffle Quality 12/20 (Suboptimal)
Shading 96 %
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 18.5 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 7.8 mg/L
pH (lab) 7.73
Conductivity 330 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		2151 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 21 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Bluntnose Minnow 173
Spottail Shiner 76
Spotfin Shiner 55
White Sucker 24
Blacknose Dace 18
Greenside Darter 10
Silverjaw Minnow 10
Largemouth Bass 6
Central Stoneroller 4
Common Shiner 4
Bluegill 3
Creek Chub 3
Green Sunfish 2
Potomac Sculpin 2
Fantail Darter 1
Longear Sunfish 1
Longnose Dace 1
Margined Madtom 1
Redbreast Sunfish 1
Rock Bass 1
Smallmouth Bass 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
No amphibians and reptiles noted.

Crayfish:
No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:
No exotic plants noted.
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Cricotopus/Orthocladius Midge 25
Eukiefferiella Non-Biting Midges 23
Stegopterna Black Fly 13
Optioservus Riffle Beetle 6
Stenonema Flatheaded Mayfly 5
Stenelmis Beetle 5
Prosimulium Black Fly 5
Parametriocnemus Non-Biting Midges 3
Thienemanniella Non-Biting Midges 1
Pseudosuccinea Air Breathing Freshwater Snail 1
Paracapnia Small Winter Stonefly 1
Ancyronyx Spider Riffle Beetle 1
Boyeria Spotted Darner Dragonfly 1
Ephemerella Sulphur Mayfly 1
Diamesa Bloodworm 1
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 1
Procladius Non-Biting Midge 1
Conchapelopia Non-Biting Midges 1
Corynoneura Non-Biting Midges 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.