MBSS Site Summary for: LMON-421-T-2000

Site Photos

Field photo showing stream conditions at site LMON-421-T-2000-01 (Opens in a new window)

Located on BENNETT CR in the Lower Monocacy River watershed, 8-digit code: 02140302.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/15/2000 and again in the summer on 10/2/2000.

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 - 3.0 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Poor - 2.8 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 42,176 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 1.8 %
Agricultural Land Use 58.9 %
Forested Land Use 39 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 13/20 (Suboptimal)
Epifaunal Substrate 11/20 (Suboptimal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 10/20 (Marginal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 75 meters 		20/20 (Optimal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 0 meters 		0/20 (Poor)
Shading 65 %
Embeddedness 30 %


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 13.8 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 9.5 mg/L
pH (lab) 8.12
Conductivity 200 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		705.3 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 1.3 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 21 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Bluntnose Minnow 323
Spotfin Shiner 226
Spottail Shiner 83
Longear Sunfish 46
Tessellated Darter 42
Golden Redhorse 39
White Sucker 27
Bluegill 24
Redbreast Sunfish 23
Green Sunfish 19
Pumpkinseed 17
Common Shiner 13
Rosyface Shiner 13
Eastern Silvery Minnow 10
Smallmouth Bass 10
Largemouth Bass 8
Yellow Bullhead 5
Northern Hogsucker 3
Eastern Mosquitofish 2
Potomac Sculpin 2
Lepomis Hybrid 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
No amphibians and reptiles noted.

Crayfish:
No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:
Multiflora Rose
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Hydrobaenus Midge 34
Crangonyx Amphipod 11
Centroptilum Small Minnow Mayfly 11
Orthocladiinae A Non-Biting Midges 8
Tanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 7
Diplocladius Non-Biting Midges 5
Dicrotendipes Non-Biting Midges 4
Cricotopus Non-Biting Midges 3
Culicoides 2
Probezzia Biting Midges 2
Ameletus Combmouthed Minnow Mayfly 2
Nyctiophylax 2
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 1
Corixidae Water Boatman 1
Caecidotea Isopod 1
Macromia 1
Cryptochironomus Non-Biting Midges 1
Coenagrionidae Narrowwinged Damselfly 1
Argia Narrow-Winged Damselfly 1
Clinotanypus Non-Biting Midge 1
Procladius Non-Biting Midge 1
Stictochironomus Non-Biting Midge 1
Chironomus Non-Biting Midges 1
Corynoneura 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.