MBSS Site Summary for: GA-A-505-210-95


Located on NORTH BR CASSELMAN R in the Casselman River watershed, 8-digit code: 05020204.
This stream was visited in the spring on 4/21/1995 and again in the summer on 8/24/1995.

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 - 2.0 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Fair - 3.0 / 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 5,302 acres A stream flowing through a densely forested area. An example of a forested stream.
Urban Land Use 0 %
Agricultural Land Use 17.8 %
Forested Land Use 79.2 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 17/20 (Optimal)
Epifaunal Substrate 3/20 (Poor)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 10/20 (Marginal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		16/20 (Optimal)
Riffle Quality 1/20 (Poor)
Shading 35 %
Embeddedness 55 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 55%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 16 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 6.1 mg/L
pH (lab) 6.49
Conductivity 86 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		110.9 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 3 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
Creek Chub 248
White Sucker 115
Blacknose Dace 31
Pumpkinseed 22
Rock Bass 3
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Northern Dusky Salamander
Wood 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
Rheotanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 16
Thienemannimyia Non-Biting Midges 12
Dubiraphia Riffle Beetle 9
Tanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 6
Leuctra  Rolled-Winged Stonefly 6
Parametriocnemus Non-Biting Midges 6
Baetidae Small Minnow Mayfly 5
Cricotopus Non-Biting Midges 4
Ablabesmyia Non-Biting Midge 3
Calopteryx Damselfly 3
Thienemanniella Non-Biting Midges 3
Eurylophella Mayfly 2
Labrundinia Non-Biting Midges 2
Probezzia Biting Midges 2
Nectopsyche 2
Neureclipsis 1
Cultus 1
Leucorrhinia 1
Gomphidae Clubtail Dragonfly 1
Ormosia Cranefly 1
Microtendipes Non-Biting Midges 1
Dolophilodes Medium Evening Sedge Caddisfly 1
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 1
Ptilostomis Giant Casemaker Caddisfly 1
Leptophlebia Pronggilled Mayfly 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.