MBSS Site Summary for: FR-P-516-235-96


Located on SANDY 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 8/26/1996.

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 - 2.0 / 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 2,209 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 1.2 %
Agricultural Land Use 63.8 %
Forested Land Use 34.6 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 15/20 (Suboptimal)
Epifaunal Substrate 1/20 (Poor)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 12/20 (Suboptimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		15/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality 12/20 (Suboptimal)
Shading 25 %
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 20.4 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 7.5 mg/L
pH (lab) 7.81
Conductivity 199 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		1561 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 17 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Bluntnose Minnow 161
Blacknose Dace 125
Potomac Sculpin 64
Creek Chub 32
Redbreast Sunfish 28
Longnose Dace 27
White Sucker 24
Fantail Darter 15
Spotfin Shiner 13
Green Sunfish 4
Greenside Darter 4
Silverjaw Minnow 4
Bluegill 3
Rock Bass 3
Central Stoneroller 2
Largemouth Bass 2
Creek Chubsucker 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
American Bullfrog
Northern Green Frog
Northern Two-Lined Salamander

Crayfish:
No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:
No exotic plants noted.
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Prosimulium Black Fly 67
Diphetor Mayfly 10
Eukiefferiella Non-Biting Midges 6
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 5
Parametriocnemus Non-Biting Midges 4
Thienemannimyia Non-Biting Midges 4
Capniidae Small Winter Stonefly 4
Stegopterna Black Fly 4
Hemerodromia Tiny Fly 2
Conchapelopia Non-Biting Midges 2
Rheotanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 1
Thienemanniella Non-Biting Midges 1
Neophylax Caddisfly 1
Rhyacophila Free-Living Caddisfly 1
Caecidotea Isopod 1
Stenacron Mayfly 1
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 1
Hydropsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 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.