MBSS Site Summary for: GA-A-251-217-97


Located on CHERRY CR in the Youghiogheny River watershed, 8-digit code: 05020201.
This stream was visited in the spring on 4/7/1997 and again in the summer on 7/30/1997.

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 Poor - 1.0 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Poor - 2.3 / 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 1,959 acres A stream flowing through a densely forested area. An example of a forested stream.
Urban Land Use 0.1 %
Agricultural Land Use 35.5 %
Forested Land Use 62.7 %


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 5/20 (Poor)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 8/20 (Marginal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		14/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality 0/20 (Poor)
Shading 70 %
Embeddedness 100 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 100%. This is very high, and may adversely affect biotic communities.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 25.5 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 7 mg/L
pH (lab) 6.85
Conductivity 149 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		195.6 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 1.4 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 8 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Creek Chub 271
Bluntnose Minnow 194
Brown Bullhead 82
White Sucker 47
Blacknose Dace 25
Fathead Minnow 23
Golden Shiner 4
Pumpkinseed 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Northern Green Frog

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 42
Caecidotea Isopod 16
Ephemerella Sulphur Mayfly 14
Paratanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 6
Thienemanniella Non-Biting Midges 3
Amphinemura Spring Stonefly 3
Thienemannimyia Non-Biting Midges 2
Dubiraphia Riffle Beetle 2
Rheocricotopus Non-Biting Midges 2
Micropsectra Non-Biting Midges 2
Nanocladius Non-Biting Midges 1
Heterotrissocladius European Non-Biting Midge 1
Cricotopus/Orthocladius Midge 1
Argia Narrow-Winged Damselfly 1
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 1
Hydropsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 1
Ablabesmyia Non-Biting Midge 1
Corynoneura Non-Biting Midges 1
Naididae Aquatic Worm 1
Hemerodromia Tiny Fly 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.