MBSS Site Summary for: MILE-103-T-2005


Located on Miles River in the Miles River watershed, 8-digit code: 02130502.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/31/2005 and again in the summer on 8/22/2005.

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 - 2.7 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Poor - 2.4 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 250 acres A stream flowing through a densely forested area. An example of a forested stream.
Urban Land Use 13 %
Agricultural Land Use 36 %
Forested Land Use 51 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 7/20 (Marginal)
Epifaunal Substrate 10/20 (Marginal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 7/20 (Marginal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 70 meters 		11/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 5 meters 		6/20 (Marginal)
Shading 95 %
Embeddedness 80 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 80%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 22.3 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 2.6 mg/L
Dissolved oxygen levels measured in the stream were very low (2.6 mg/L). Many fishes and other aquatic animals cannot tolerate low levels of oxygen in the water.
pH (lab) 6.65
Conductivity 319 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		580.1 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 27.1752 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 3 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Eastern Mudminnow 86
Eastern Mosquitofish 76
Pumpkinseed 3
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Eastern Gartersnake
Northern Green Frog
Northern Spring Peeper
Wood Frog

Crayfish:
No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:
Japanese Honeysuckle
Japanese Stiltgrass
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Diplocladius Non-Biting Midges 19
Dicrotendipes Non-Biting Midges 11
Tubifex 10
Chironomus Non-Biting Midges 7
Tubificidae Aquatic Worm 7
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 6
Hydrobaenus Midge 5
Enchytraeidae Aquatic Worm 5
Physa Air-Breathing Freshwater Snail 4
Pseudolimnophila Crane Fly 4
Zavrelimyia Non-Biting Midges 4
Limnodrilus Worm 3
Musculium Fingernail Clam 3
Caecidotea Isopod 3
Crangonyx Amphipod 2
Hydrochara 2
Natarsia Non-Biting Midges 2
Thienemannimyia group Non-Biting Midges 2
Tanypodinae Non-Biting Midges 1
Lumbriculidae Worm 1
Chironomini Non-Biting Midge 1
Ceratopogonidae Biting Midge 1
Prosimulium Black Fly 1
Molophilus 1
Dolichopodidae Long-Legged 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.