MBSS Site Summary for: KE-N-096-102-95


Located on SWAN CR in the Lower Chester River watershed, 8-digit code: 02130505.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/21/1995 and again in the summer on 8/22/1995.

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 Fair - 3.0 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Poor - 2.7 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 357 acres A stream flowing through a densely forested area. An example of a forested stream.
Urban Land Use 0.1 %
Agricultural Land Use 12.9 %
Forested Land Use 70.3 %


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 5/20 (Poor)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 3/20 (Poor)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		14/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality 0/20 (Poor)
Shading 80 %
Embeddedness 100 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 100%. This is very high, and may adversely affect biotic communities.
Several measures of instream habitat were considered 'Poor' at this location.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 21.7 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 0.8 mg/L
Dissolved oxygen levels measured in the stream were very low (0.8 mg/L). Many fishes and other aquatic animals cannot tolerate low levels of oxygen in the water.
pH (lab) 5.86
Conductivity 194 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		100.4 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 20 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 9 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Brown Bullhead 119
Golden Shiner 97
Eastern Mudminnow 40
Black Crappie 34
Largemouth Bass 19
Bluegill 7
Redfin Pickerel 4
Pumpkinseed 3
American Eel 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
American Bullfrog

Crayfish:
No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:
No exotic plants noted.
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Pisidium Freshwater Pea (Pill) Clam 18
Orthocladiinae Midge 11
Conchapelopia Non-Biting Midges 9
Dicrotendipes Non-Biting Midges 8
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 8
Hydrobaenus Midge 6
Caecidotea Isopod 6
Menetus Air Breathing Freshwater Snail 4
Crangonyx Amphipod 4
Tortricidae Leafroller Moth 3
Prostoia Spring Stonefly 3
Scirtidae Marsh Beetle 2
Deronectes 2
Glyptotendipes 2
Paratendipes European Non-Biting Midge 2
Tabanus Biting Horsefly 1
Ceratopogon Biting Midge 1
Polypedilum Non-Biting Midges 1
Tribelos Non-Biting Midges 1
Psilometriocnemus 1
Pseudosuccinea Air Breathing Freshwater Snail 1
Physa Air-Breathing Freshwater Snail 1
Corixidae Water Boatman 1
Lumbriculidae Worm 1
Chironomus 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.