MBSS Site Summary for: LMON-204-B-2010

Site Photos

Field photo showing stream conditions at site LMON-204-B-2010-1 (Opens in a new window) Field photo showing stream conditions at site LMON-204-B-2010-2 (Opens in a new window)

Located on South Fork in the Lower Monocacy River watershed, 8-digit code: 02140302.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/31/2010 and again in the summer on 7/12/2010.

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 - 4.7 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Fair - 3.0 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 4,308 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 0.9 %
Agricultural Land Use 74.4 %
Forested Land Use 23.6 %


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 5/20 (Poor)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 10/20 (Marginal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 53 meters 		15/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 31 meters 		15/20 (Suboptimal)
Shading 85 %
Embeddedness 65 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 65%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.


Stream Water Quality:
pH (lab) 7.865
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		329.9561 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 0.9745 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
Blacknose Dace 227
Potomac Sculpin 182
Blue Ridge Sculpin 158
White Sucker 38
Rosyside Dace 35
Fantail Darter 21
Longnose Dace 15
Creek Chub 7
Rock Bass 2
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
American Bullfrog
Gray Treefrog
Northern Green Frog

Crayfish:
Cambarus bartonii bartonii
Orconectes virilis

Exotic Plants:
Japanese Stiltgrass
Multiflora Rose
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Ephemerella Sulphur Mayfly 34
Ephemerellidae Spiny Crawler Mayfly 13
Amphinemura Spring Stonefly 12
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 5
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 4
Leuctridae Rolledwinged Stonefly 4
Isoperla Stripetail Stonefly 3
Orthocladiinae Midge 3
Thienemannimyia Group Non-Biting Midges 3
Ceratopsyche 3
Clinocera Aquatic Dance Fly 3
Simulium Black Fly 3
Chimarra Fingernet Caddisfly 3
Spirosperma Aquatic Oligochaete Worm 2
Naididae Aquatic Worm 2
Chelifera Aquatic Dance Fly 2
Perlodidae Perlodid Stonefly 2
Oulimnius Riffle Beetle 2
Rheotanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 2
Tanypodinae Non-Biting Midges 1
Tanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 1
Polypedilum Non-Biting Midges 1
Nigronia Megaloptera (Dark Fishfly) 1
Neophylax Caddisfly 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.