MBSS Site Summary for: LPAX-101-R-2009

Site Photos

Field photo showing stream conditions at site LPAX-101-R-2009-1 (Opens in a new window) Field photo showing stream conditions at site LPAX-101-R-2009-2 (Opens in a new window)

Located on UT Towsers Branch in the Little Patuxent River watershed, 8-digit code: 02131105.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/10/2009 and again in the summer on 6/12/2009.

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 - 1.0 / 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 337 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 6.5 %
Agricultural Land Use 81 %
Forested Land Use 12.5 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 3/20 (Poor)
Epifaunal Substrate 2/20 (Poor)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 3/20 (Poor)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 75 meters 		7/20 (Marginal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 0 meters 		0/20 (Poor)
Shading 30 %
Embeddedness 100 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 100%. This is very high, and may adversely affect biotic communities.
Several measures of instream habitat were considered 'Poor' at this location.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 26.4 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 7.2 mg/L
pH (lab) 6.945
Conductivity 214 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		1313.8 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 16.0285 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 1 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Pumpkinseed 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
American Bullfrog
Northern Green Frog

Crayfish:
No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:
Callery Pear
Garlic Mustard
Mile-A-Minute
Multiflora Rose
Oriental Bittersweet
Tree Of Heaven
White Mulberry
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Psectrotanypus Non-Biting Midge 58
Tanypodinae Non-Biting Midges 19
Probezzia Biting Midges 14
Clinotanypus Non-Biting Midge 7
Tubificidae Aquatic Worm 4
Tanypus Non-Biting Midge 4
Agabus Predatory Aquatic Beetle 3
Chironomus Non-Biting Midges 2
Plathemis Long-Tailed Skimmer Dragonfly 2
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.