MBSS Site Summary for: HA-N-018-103-96


Located on SWAN CR in the Swan Creek watershed, 8-digit code: 02130706.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/26/1996 and again in the summer on 7/17/1996.

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 Poor - 2.0 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Poor - 2.3 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 185 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 2.7 %
Agricultural Land Use 80 %
Forested Land Use 16.8 %


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 2/20 (Poor)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 5/20 (Poor)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters
7/20 (Marginal)
Riffle Quality 6/20 (Marginal)
Shading 80 %
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 22.8 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 8.3 mg/L
pH (lab) 7.35
Conductivity 150 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity)
591.2 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 4.5 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
White Sucker 47
Creek Chub 36
Rosyside Dace 12
Pumpkinseed 9
Redbreast Sunfish 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:

No amphibians and reptiles noted.

Crayfish:

Cambarus bartonii bartonii

Exotic Plants:

No exotic plants noted.
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:

Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Stegopterna Black Fly 42
Cricotopus/Orthocladius Midge 31
Rheocricotopus Non-Biting Midges 13
Paracapnia Small Winter Stonefly 8
Caecidotea Isopod 2
Amphinemura Spring Stonefly 1
Rhyacophila Free-Living Caddisfly 1
Tanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 1
Dubiraphia Riffle Beetle 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.