MBSS Site Summary for: LOCH-313-R-2016

Site Photos

Field photo showing stream conditions at site LOCH-313-R-2016_midpoint looking downstream (Opens in a new window) Field photo showing stream conditions at site LOCH-313-R-2016_midpoint looking upstream (Opens in a new window)

Located on Little Falls in the Loch Raven Reservoir watershed, 8-digit code: 02130805.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/2/2016 and again in the summer on 8/24/2016.

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 Good - 4.0 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 6,446 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 8.2 %
Agricultural Land Use 63.6 %
Forested Land Use 25.5 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 17/20 (Optimal)
Epifaunal Substrate 18/20 (Optimal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 16/20 (Optimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 27 meters 		12/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 50 meters 		16/20 (Optimal)
Shading 70 %
Embeddedness 20 %
Several measures of instream habitat were considered 'Optimal' at this location.


Stream Water Quality:
pH (lab) 7.36
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		336.6 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 0.8763 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 11 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Blacknose Dace 340
Rosyside Dace 208
White Sucker 86
Creek Chub 59
Cutlip Minnow 51
Tessellated Darter 47
Northern Hogsucker 23
Brown Trout 17
Longnose Dace 17
Margined Madtom 15
Common Shiner 3
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Pickerel Frog

Crayfish:
No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:
Japanese Barberry
Japanese Stiltgrass
Mile-A-Minute
Multiflora Rose
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Ephemerella Sulphur Mayfly 28
Hydropsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 24
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 13
Isonychia Slate Drake Mayfly 12
Antocha Crane Fly 8
Maccaffertium March Brown And Cahill Mayfly 8
Chimarra Fingernet Caddisfly 4
Amphinemura Spring Stonefly 3
Parametriocnemus Non-Biting Midges 2
Penelomax 2
Baetis Blue-Winged Olive Mayfly 2
Hemerodromia Tiny Fly 2
Perlidae Common Stonefly 1
Helichus Beetle 1
Dicranota Hairy-Eyed Cranefly 1
Nigronia Megaloptera (Dark Fishfly) 1
Rheotanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 1
Cricotopus Non-Biting Midges 1
Dicrotendipes Non-Biting Midges 1
Micropsectra 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.