MBSS Site Summary for: HO-N-010-007-95


Located on Middle Patuxent River in the Middle Patuxent River watershed, 8-digit code: 02131106.
This stream was visited 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 N R
Benthic IBI N R

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 No data available 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 No data available
Agricultural Land Use No data available
Forested Land Use No data available


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

Physical Stream Habitat

Instream Habitat 16/20 (Optimal)
Epifaunal Substrate 18/20 (Optimal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 16/20 (Optimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters
15/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality 15/20 (Suboptimal)
Shading 90 %
Embeddedness 25 %
Several measures of instream habitat were considered 'Optimal' at this location.


Stream Water Quality:

Water temperature 19.5 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 9.5 mg/L
Conductivity 216 µmho/cm

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
Tessellated Darter 149
Rosyface Shiner 79
Fallfish 77
Common Shiner 57
Longnose Dace 50
American Eel 45
River Chub 43
Rosyside Dace 33
Cutlip Minnow 29
White Sucker 21
Margined Madtom 15
Smallmouth Bass 13
Satinfin Shiner 12
Swallowtail Shiner 11
Redbreast Sunfish 9
Northern Hogsucker 4
Green Sunfish 3
Pumpkinseed 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:

American Bullfrog
Pickerel Frog

Crayfish:

No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:

No exotic plants noted.
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:

Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Benthic data unavailable.
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.