MBSS Site Summary for: GEOR-103-R-2008

Site Photos

Located on GEORGE'S CREEK in the Georges Creek watershed, 8-digit code: 02141004.
This stream was visited in the spring on 4/22/2008 and again in the summer on 6/18/2008.

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 - 2.0 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 434 acres A highly channelized urban stream with concrete banks. An example of a highly channelized urban stream.
Urban Land Use 78.1 %
Agricultural Land Use 5.1 %
Forested Land Use 16.2 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 4/20 (Poor)
Epifaunal Substrate 3/20 (Poor)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 11/20 (Suboptimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 70 meters 		11/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 7 meters 		6/20 (Marginal)
Shading 0 %
Embeddedness 90 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 90%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 14.5 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 6.8 mg/L
pH (lab) 7.55
Conductivity 811 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		1366.3 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 3.212 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 1 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
No Fish Observed 0
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Northern Green Frog
Northern Red Salamander

Crayfish:
Cambarus bartonii bartonii

Exotic Plants:
No Exotic Plants Observed
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Caecidotea Isopod 45
Cura Flatworm 26
Lumbriculidae Worm 5
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 4
Physa Air-Breathing Freshwater Snail 4
Orthocladiinae Midge 4
Chaetocladius Non-Biting Midges 3
Zavrelimyia Non-Biting Midges 3
Paraphaenocladius Non-Biting Midges 2
Psychodidae Moth Fly 2
Coenagrionidae Narrowwinged Damselfly 1
Chironomini Non-Biting Midge 1
Neoporus 1
Dolichopodidae Long-Legged Fly 1
Natarsia 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.