MBSS Site Summary for: LMON-239-T-2000

Site Photos

Field photo showing stream conditions at site LMON-239-T-2000-01 (Opens in a new window) Field photo showing stream conditions at site LMON-239-T-2000-02 (Opens in a new window)

Located on HORSEHEAD RUN in the Lower Monocacy River watershed, 8-digit code: 02140302.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/29/2000 and again in the summer on 9/28/2000.

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 - 3.7 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Poor - 1.8 / 5.0

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 1,042 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 0.3 %
Agricultural Land Use 78 %
Forested Land Use 20.8 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 6/20 (Marginal)
Epifaunal Substrate 4/20 (Poor)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 11/20 (Suboptimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 75 meters 		12/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 5 meters 		11/20 (Suboptimal)
Shading 25 %
Embeddedness 100 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 100%. This is very high, and may adversely affect biotic communities.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 11.1 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 10.1 mg/L
pH (lab) 7.81
Conductivity 590 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		1668 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 1.1 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 12 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Eastern Mosquitofish 280
Bluntnose Minnow 275
Blacknose Dace 248
Fantail Darter 61
Spotfin Shiner 36
White Sucker 29
Creek Chub 7
Green Sunfish 4
Fathead Minnow 3
Longear Sunfish 3
Pumpkinseed 1
Rosyside Dace 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
No amphibians and reptiles noted.

Crayfish:
No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:
Canada Thistle
Japanese Honeysuckle
Mile-A-Minute
Multiflora Rose
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Micropsectra Non-Biting Midges 80
Lirceus Isopod 18
Simuliidae Black Fly 5
Cricotopus/Orthocladius Midge 3
Procladius Non-Biting Midge 3
Polypedilum Non-Biting Midges 2
Tanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 2
Thienemanniella Non-Biting Midges 2
Pisidiidae Pill Clam 2
Conchapelopia Non-Biting Midges 1
Corynoneura Non-Biting Midges 1
Larsia Non-Biting Midge 1
Paraphaenocladius 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.