MBSS Site Summary for: LMON-494-B-2012

Site Photos

Field photo showing stream conditions at site LMON-494-B-2012-50mMarkDownstream (Opens in a new window) Field photo showing stream conditions at site LMON-494-B-2012-50mMarkUpstream (Opens in a new window)

Located on LINGANORE CREEK in the Lower Monocacy River watershed, 8-digit code: 02140302.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/12/2012 and again in the summer on 8/9/2012.

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 Poor - 2.7 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Poor - 1.3 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 53,468 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 10.8 %
Agricultural Land Use 56.9 %
Forested Land Use 30 %


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 8/20 (Marginal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 6/20 (Marginal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 75 meters 		15/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 0 meters 		0/20 (Poor)
Shading 40 %
Embeddedness 80 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 80%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.


Stream Water Quality:
pH (lab) 8.05
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		1204.3 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 1.9457 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 18 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Redbreast Sunfish 175
White Sucker 85
Bluegill 32
Golden Redhorse 28
Channel Catfish 24
Green Sunfish 22
Yellow Bullhead 15
Spotfin Shiner 10
Longear Sunfish 9
Smallmouth Bass 6
Largemouth Bass 4
Northern Hogsucker 4
Rainbow Darter 4
American Eel 3
Black Crappie 2
Bluntnose Minnow 2
Tessellated Darter 2
Common Carp 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Gray Treefrog
Northern Spring Peeper
Northern Water Snake
Upland Chorus Frog

Crayfish:
Orconectes virilis

Exotic Plants:
Japanese Barberry
Japanese Honeysuckle
Japanese Stiltgrass
Multiflora Rose
Oriental Bittersweet
Privet
Tree Of Heaven
Wineberry
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 55
Gammarus Amphipod 25
Orthocladiinae Midge 16
Enallagma Narrow-Winged Damselfly 2
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 2
Crangonyx Amphipod 2
Hydrobaenus Midge 2
Thienemannimyia Group Non-Biting Midges 2
Rheotanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 1
Tanypodinae Non-Biting Midges 1
Cricotopus Non-Biting Midges 1
Clinocera Aquatic Dance Fly 1
Chrysops Deerfly 1
SCIRTIDAE Marsh Beetle 1
Caenis Mayfly 1
Stenacron Mayfly 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.