MBSS Site Summary for: LMON-613-H-2010

Site Photos

Field photo showing stream conditions at site LMON-613-H-2010-1 (Opens in a new window) Field photo showing stream conditions at site LMON-613-H-2010-2 (Opens in a new window)

Located on Monacacy River in the Lower Monocacy River watershed, 8-digit code: 02140302.
This stream was visited in the spring on 4/14/2010 and again in the summer on 8/2/2010.

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 N R
Benthic IBI Poor - 1.5 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 465,097 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 7 %
Agricultural Land Use 63.3 %
Forested Land Use 27.9 %


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 12/20 (Suboptimal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 7/20 (Marginal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 75 meters 		15/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 0 meters 		0/20 (Poor)
Shading 10 %
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:
pH (lab) 7.78
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		1680.959 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 2.0436 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:
Fish data is unavailable or no fish observed.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
No amphibians and reptiles noted.

Crayfish:
Orconectes virilis

Exotic Plants:
No exotic plants noted.
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Gammarus Amphipod 67
Polypedilum Non-Biting Midges 33
Tanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 3
Polycentropus Tube Maker Caddisfly 1
Cryptotendipes 1
Sphaeromias 1
Parakiefferiella European Non-Biting Midge 1
Hydrobaenus Midge 1
Chaetocladius Non-Biting Midges 1
Orthocladius 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.