MBSS Site Summary for: HA-P-246-304-96


Located on LITTLE GUNPOWDER R in the Little Gunpowder Falls watershed, 8-digit code: 02130804.
This stream was visited in the spring on 4/3/1996 and again in the summer on 8/19/1996.

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 Good - 4.0 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Fair - 3.7 / 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 15,305 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 0.4 %
Agricultural Land Use 65 %
Forested Land Use 34 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 12/20 (Suboptimal)
Epifaunal Substrate 11/20 (Suboptimal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 16/20 (Optimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		14/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality 14/20 (Suboptimal)
Shading 60 %
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 17.5 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 9.7 mg/L
pH (lab) 7.56
Conductivity 140 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		456.8 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 1.5 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 18 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Creek Chub 38
White Sucker 35
Common Shiner 28
Northern Hogsucker 28
River Chub 28
American Eel 26
Satinfin Shiner 25
Rosyside Dace 24
Tessellated Darter 24
Swallowtail Shiner 19
Margined Madtom 16
Cutlip Minnow 14
Blacknose Dace 9
Sea Lamprey 6
Longnose Dace 3
Largemouth Bass 1
Redbreast Sunfish 1
Smallmouth Bass 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Northern Dusky Salamander

Crayfish:
Orconectes limosus

Exotic Plants:
No exotic plants noted.
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Cricotopus/Orthocladius Midge 31
Eurylophella Mayfly 11
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 11
Orthocladiinae A Non-Biting Midges 10
Ephemerellidae Spiny Crawler Mayfly 10
Conchapelopia Non-Biting Midges 3
Eukiefferiella Non-Biting Midges 2
Stenonema Flatheaded Mayfly 2
Dubiraphia Riffle Beetle 2
Tanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 2
Leptophlebiidae Pronggilled Mayfly 1
Dineutus Whirlygig Beetle 1
Lumbriculidae Worm 1
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 1
Diplectrona Net-Spinning Caddisfly 1
Parametriocnemus Non-Biting Midges 1
Rheocricotopus Non-Biting Midges 1
Physa Air-Breathing Freshwater Snail 1
Clinocera Aquatic Dance Fly 1
Stenelmis Beetle 1
Simuliidae Black Fly 1
Diamesa Bloodworm 1
Gomphus Clubtail Dragonfly 1
Ameletus Combmouthed Minnow Mayfly 1
Perlidae Common Stonefly 1
Corydalus Dobsonfly 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.