MBSS Site Summary for: HO-P-002-321-97


Located on LITTLE PATUXENT R in the Little Patuxent River watershed, 8-digit code: 02131105.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/10/1997 and again in the summer on 7/14/1997.

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 - 3.3 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Poor - 1.7 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 7,074 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 14.7 %
Agricultural Land Use 48.1 %
Forested Land Use 36.7 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 7/20 (Marginal)
Epifaunal Substrate 6/20 (Marginal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 11/20 (Suboptimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		11/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality 11/20 (Suboptimal)
Shading 90 %
Embeddedness 80 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 80%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 23 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 8 mg/L
pH (lab) 7.51
Conductivity 316 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		1192 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 2.5 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 15 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Blacknose Dace 70
Tessellated Darter 50
White Sucker 41
Fallfish 29
Rosyside Dace 26
Longnose Dace 16
Satinfin Shiner 13
Pumpkinseed 12
Swallowtail Shiner 10
Creek Chub 8
Common Shiner 7
American Eel 6
Cutlip Minnow 6
Redbreast Sunfish 6
Margined Madtom 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
American Bullfrog
Eastern American Toad
Northern Green Frog
Northern Two-Lined Salamander

Crayfish:
Orconectes limosus
Orconectes virilis

Exotic Plants:
No exotic plants noted.
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Cricotopus/Orthocladius Midge 27
Orthocladiinae A Non-Biting Midges 24
Simulium Black Fly 9
Clinocera Aquatic Dance Fly 8
Hydrobaenus Midge 5
Stegopterna Black Fly 4
Saetheria 4
Sympotthastia Non-Biting Midges 4
Prostoia Spring Stonefly 3
Ephemerella Sulphur Mayfly 2
Brillia Non-Biting Midges 2
Eukiefferiella Non-Biting Midges 2
Conchapelopia Non-Biting Midges 1
Corynoneura Non-Biting Midges 1
Ameletus Combmouthed Minnow Mayfly 1
Perlidae Common Stonefly 1
Stenochironomus European Non-Biting Midge 1
Tanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 1
Polypedilum Non-Biting Midges 1
Rheotanytarsus 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.