MBSS Site Summary for: HA-P-116-109-96


Located on LAUREL BROOK in the Little Gunpowder Falls watershed, 8-digit code: 02130804.
This stream was visited in the spring on 4/2/1996 and again in the summer on 6/27/1996.

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 Fair - 3.0 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Good - 4.3 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 549 acres A stream flowing through a densely forested area. An example of a forested stream.
Urban Land Use 5.3 %
Agricultural Land Use 43.2 %
Forested Land Use 51.4 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 15/20 (Suboptimal)
Epifaunal Substrate 11/20 (Suboptimal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 14/20 (Suboptimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		15/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality 14/20 (Suboptimal)
Shading 90 %
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:
Water temperature 16 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 9.8 mg/L
pH (lab) 7.43
Conductivity 146 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		488.2 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 2.4 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 7 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Rosyside Dace 41
American Eel 35
Blacknose Dace 22
Creek Chub 6
White Sucker 6
Cutlip Minnow 3
Common Shiner 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Northern Dusky Salamander
Northern Green Frog
Northern Two-Lined Salamander
Pickerel 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
Ephemerella Sulphur Mayfly 43
Prosimulium Black Fly 35
Epeorus Mayfly 7
Cricotopus/Orthocladius Midge 6
Stenonema Flatheaded Mayfly 2
Acroneuria Golden Stoneflies 2
Diamesa Bloodworm 2
Ameletus Combmouthed Minnow Mayfly 1
Antocha Crane Fly 1
Eurylophella Mayfly 1
Conchapelopia Non-Biting Midges 1
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 1
Optioservus Riffle Beetle 1
Oulimnius Riffle Beetle 1
Prostoia Spring Stonefly 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.