MBSS Site Summary for: MILE-114-T-2005


Located on Glebe Creek UT1 in the Miles River watershed, 8-digit code: 02130502.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/22/2005 and again in the summer on 6/15/2005.

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 - 2.0 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Fair - 3.0 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 371 acres A highly channelized urban stream with concrete banks. An example of a highly channelized urban stream.
Urban Land Use 51 %
Agricultural Land Use 31 %
Forested Land Use 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 11/20 (Suboptimal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 12/20 (Suboptimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 60 meters 		13/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 15 meters 		11/20 (Suboptimal)
Shading 90 %
Embeddedness 90 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 90%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 20.3 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 4.9 mg/L
Dissolved oxygen levels measured in the stream were very low (4.9 mg/L). Many fishes and other aquatic animals cannot tolerate low levels of oxygen in the water.
pH (lab) 7.3
Conductivity 315 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		958.9 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 2.7472 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 5 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Eastern Mudminnow 474
Fathead Minnow 63
Golden Shiner 32
American Eel 2
Pumpkinseed 2
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
American Bullfrog
Northern Green Frog

Crayfish:
No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:
Japanese Honeysuckle
Japanese Stiltgrass
Multiflora Rose
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Amphipoda Scud 19
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 15
Rheocricotopus Non-Biting Midges 15
Micropsectra Non-Biting Midges 9
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 6
Ablabesmyia Non-Biting Midge 5
Gammarus Amphipod 5
Orthocladiinae Midge 4
Polypedilum Non-Biting Midges 4
Synurella Amphipod 3
Tubificidae Aquatic Worm 3
Thienemannimyia group Non-Biting Midges 3
Dubiraphia Riffle Beetle 3
Calopteryx Damselfly 2
Pseudorthocladius Non-Biting Midges 2
Tanypodinae Non-Biting Midges 2
Natarsia Non-Biting Midges 1
Parametriocnemus Non-Biting Midges 1
Phaenopsectra Non-Biting Midges 1
Enchytraeidae Aquatic Worm 1
Lype Net Tube Caddisfly 1
Labrundinia Non-Biting Midges 1
Ancyronyx Spider Riffle Beetle 1
Lumbriculidae Worm 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.