MBSS Site Summary for: FURN-101-S-2016

Site Photos

Field photo showing stream conditions at site FURN-101-S-2016_downstream from midpoint (Opens in a new window) Field photo showing stream conditions at site FURN-101-S-2016_upstream from midpoint (Opens in a new window)

Located on UT to Principio Creek in the Furnace Bay watershed, 8-digit code: 02130609.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/29/2016 and again in the summer on 8/15/2016.

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 Good - 5.0 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 730 acres A stream flowing through a densely forested area. An example of a forested stream.
Urban Land Use 6.6 %
Agricultural Land Use 9.9 %
Forested Land Use 70.2 %


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 11/20 (Suboptimal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 12/20 (Suboptimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 50 meters 		11/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 25 meters 		10/20 (Marginal)
Shading 97 %
Embeddedness 60 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 60%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.


Stream Water Quality:
pH (lab) 6.98
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		183.9 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 2.7156 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 10 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Rosyside Dace 63
Creek Chub 19
Margined Madtom 15
Blacknose Dace 13
American Eel 7
Cutlip Minnow 7
Tessellated Darter 3
White Sucker 2
Blue Ridge Sculpin 1
Common Shiner 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Northern Green Frog
Northern Two-Lined Salamander
Pickerel Frog

Crayfish:
No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:
Japanese Stiltgrass
Mile-A-Minute
Multiflora Rose
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Ephemerella Sulphur Mayfly 42
Amphinemura Spring Stonefly 15
Epeorus Mayfly 9
Simulium Black Fly 8
Prosimulium Black Fly 7
Psephenus Water Penny 5
Oulimnius Riffle Beetle 5
Lumbriculidae Worm 4
Maccaffertium March Brown And Cahill Mayfly 3
Leuctra  Rolled-Winged Stonefly 3
Dolophilodes Medium Evening Sedge Caddisfly 3
Hexatoma Crane Fly 2
Chloroperlidae Green Stonefly 2
Sweltsa Stonefly 2
Isoperla Stripetail Stonefly 1
Acerpenna Tiny Blue-Winged Olive Mayflies 1
Lepidostoma Little Brown Sedge Caddisfly 1
Acroneuria Golden Stoneflies 1
Nilotanypus 1
Diamesa Bloodworm 1
Paraleptophlebia Blue Quill Mayfly 1
Neophylax Caddisfly 1
Stilocladius Midge 1
Parametriocnemus Non-Biting Midges 1
Polypedilum Non-Biting Midges 1
Stempellinella Non-Biting Midges 1
Tanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 1
Thienemanniella 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.