MBSS Site Summary for: LWIN-102-B-2008

Site Photos

Located on MOUNTAIN BRANCH in the Lower Winters Run watershed, 8-digit code: 02130702.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/17/2008 and again in the summer on 6/12/2008.

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 Good - 4.7 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Fair - 3.0 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
(Hint: Screen readers will announce definitions; mouse users can hover over dotted text.)
Catchment area 300 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 30.9 %
Agricultural Land Use 41.3 %
Forested Land Use 27.8 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 12/20 (Suboptimal)
Epifaunal Substrate 14/20 (Suboptimal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 11/20 (Suboptimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 33 meters 		11/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 44 meters 		13/20 (Suboptimal)
Shading 95 %
Embeddedness 5 %


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 21.7 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 7.8 mg/L
pH (lab) 7.43
Conductivity 298 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		688.9 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 1.4508 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 6 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Blacknose Dace 174
Blue Ridge Sculpin 115
Creek Chub 105
Rosyside Dace 102
White Sucker 17
American Eel 9
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Gray Treefrog
Northern Green Frog
Northern Spring Peeper
Northern Two-Lined Salamander
Northern Watersnake

Crayfish:
Cambarus bartonii bartonii

Exotic Plants:
English Ivy
Garlic Mustard
Japanese Barberry
Japanese Honeysuckle
Japanese Stiltgrass
Mile-A-Minute
Multiflora Rose
Wineberry
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 36
Hydrobaenus Midge 13
Prosimulium Black Fly 9
Amphinemura Spring Stonefly 9
Diamesa Bloodworm 7
Sympotthastia Non-Biting Midges 4
Clinocera Aquatic Dance Fly 4
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 3
Maccaffertium March Brown And Cahill Mayfly 2
Hydropsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 2
Brillia Non-Biting Midges 1
Ephemerella Sulphur Mayfly 1
Eurylophella Mayfly 1
Simuliidae Black Fly 1
Gomphidae Clubtail Dragonfly 1
Antocha Crane Fly 1
Tipula Crane Fly 1
Chimarra Fingernet Caddisfly 1
Diplectrona Net-Spinning Caddisfly 1
Orthocladiinae Midge 1
Nemouridae Nemourid Stonefly 1
Thienemanniella Non-Biting Midges 1
Ephemerellidae Spiny Crawler 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.