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

Site Photos

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

Located on UT Morgan Creek in the Middle Chester River watershed, 8-digit code: 02130509.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/18/2009 and again in the summer on 6/9/2009.

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 Fair - 3.7 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Poor - 1.9 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 650 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 0.1 %
Agricultural Land Use 93.2 %
Forested Land Use 4.4 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 10/20 (Marginal)
Epifaunal Substrate 7/20 (Marginal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 6/20 (Marginal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 75 meters 		11/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 0 meters 		0/20 (Poor)
Shading 15 %
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 17.5 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 6.2 mg/L
pH (lab) 7.09
Conductivity 213 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		913 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 1.9715 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 8 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Eastern Mudminnow 79
Eastern Mosquitofish 26
Pumpkinseed 22
Bluegill 16
Tessellated Darter 3
Creek Chubsucker 2
American Eel 1
Lepomis Hybrid 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Northern Green Frog
Northern Watersnake
Southern Leopard Frog

Crayfish:
Orconectes limosus
Procambarus clarkii

Exotic Plants:
Garlic Mustard
Japanese Honeysuckle
Mile-A-Minute
Multiflora Rose
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Thienemannimyia Group Non-Biting Midges 25
Stictochironomus Non-Biting Midge 14
Synurella Amphipod 13
Paratanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 11
Thienemanniella Non-Biting Midges 11
Caecidotea Isopod 8
Musculium Fingernail Clam 6
Corynoneura Non-Biting Midges 4
Micropsectra Non-Biting Midges 3
Clinotanypus Non-Biting Midge 3
Microtendipes Non-Biting Midges 1
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 1
Paraphaenocladius Non-Biting Midges 1
Tvetenia Non-Biting Midges 1
Ironoquia Northern Caddisfly 1
Crangonyctidae Scud 1
Curculionidae Weevil 1
Limnodrilus Worm 1
Prodiamesa 1
Lepidoptera Aquatic Moth 1
Tubificidae Aquatic Worm 1
Orthocladiinae Midge 1
Chironomini Non-Biting Midge 1
Apsectrotanypus 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.