MBSS Site Summary for: LMON-205-B-2010

Site Photos

Field photo showing stream conditions at site LMON-205-B-2010-1 (Opens in a new window) Field photo showing stream conditions at site LMON-205-B-2010-2 (Opens in a new window)

Located on Woodville Branch 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 6/14/2010.

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 - 4.3 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Fair - 3.8 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 2,279 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 18 %
Agricultural Land Use 72.3 %
Forested Land Use 9.4 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 5/20 (Poor)
Epifaunal Substrate 5/20 (Poor)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 8/20 (Marginal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 27 meters 		8/20 (Marginal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 49 meters 		13/20 (Suboptimal)
Shading 65 %
Embeddedness 85 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 85%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.


Stream Water Quality:
pH (lab) 7.835
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		500.9618 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 0.6525 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 4 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Potomac Sculpin 268
Blacknose Dace 204
Fantail Darter 10
Longnose Dace 8
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Northern Two-Lined Salamander

Crayfish:
Cambarus bartonii bartonii

Exotic Plants:
Daylily
Japanese Stiltgrass
Multiflora Rose
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Amphinemura Spring Stonefly 30
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 11
Maccaffertium March Brown And Cahill Mayfly 8
Ceratopsyche 8
Rheotanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 6
Polypedilum Non-Biting Midges 4
Leuctridae Rolledwinged Stonefly 4
Clinocera Aquatic Dance Fly 4
Chimarra Fingernet Caddisfly 3
Heptageniidae Flathead Mayfly 3
Isonychia Slate Drake Mayfly 3
Ephemerella Sulphur Mayfly 3
Rheocricotopus Non-Biting Midges 3
Microtendipes Non-Biting Midges 3
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 3
Tanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 2
Ephemerellidae Spiny Crawler Mayfly 2
Empididae Dance Fly 2
Rhyacophila Free-Living Caddisfly 2
Cricotopus Non-Biting Midges 2
Prosimulium Black Fly 2
Simulium Black Fly 2
Neophylax Caddisfly 2
Gomphidae Clubtail Dragonfly 1
Diamesa Bloodworm 1
Naididae Aquatic Worm 1
Stenelmis Beetle 1
Hydrobaenus Midge 1
Prostoma Freshwater Nemertean (Ribbon Worm) 1
Psephenus Water Penny 1
Lumbriculidae Worm 1
Thienemannimyia Group Non-Biting Midges 1
Tvetenia Non-Biting Midges 1
Oulimnius Riffle Beetle 1
Parametriocnemus 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.