MBSS Site Summary for: LYOU-103-R-2004


Located on LITTLE YOUGHIOGHENY R in the Little Youghiogheny R watershed, 8-digit code: 05020202.
This stream was visited in the spring on 4/20/2004 and again in the summer on 8/2/2004.

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 - 2.0 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Poor - 2.8 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 493 acres A stream flowing through a densely forested area. An example of a forested stream.
Urban Land Use 18 %
Agricultural Land Use 24 %
Forested Land Use 58 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 6/20 (Marginal)
Epifaunal Substrate 1/20 (Poor)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 5/20 (Poor)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 73 meters 		8/20 (Marginal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 2 meters 		6/20 (Marginal)
Shading 75 %
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:
Water temperature 15.7 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 7.7 mg/L
pH (lab) 6.8
Conductivity 375 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		164.4 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 0.7 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 2 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Blacknose Dace 173
Creek Chub 70
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Eastern Gartersnake

Crayfish:
No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:
No exotic plants noted.
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Leuctra  Rolled-Winged Stonefly 19
Amphinemura Spring Stonefly 15
Caecidotea Isopod 13
Lype Net Tube Caddisfly 5
Tallaperla Roach-Like Stonefly 5
Diplectrona Net-Spinning Caddisfly 4
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 4
Thienemannimyia group Non-Biting Midges 4
Tvetenia Non-Biting Midges 3
Perlodidae Perlodid Stonefly 3
Parametriocnemus Non-Biting Midges 3
Ephemerella Sulphur Mayfly 3
Amphipoda Scud 2
Baetidae Small Minnow Mayfly 2
Isoperla Stripetail Stonefly 1
Hydroporus Water Beetle 1
Lepidostoma Little Brown Sedge Caddisfly 1
Trissopelopia Non-Biting Midges 1
Hydropsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 1
Chironomidae Non-Biting Midge 1
Stegopterna Black Fly 1
Heterotrissocladius European Non-Biting Midge 1
Chimarra Fingernet Caddisfly 1
Rhyacophila Free-Living Caddisfly 1
Tabanidae Horse Fly 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.