MBSS Site Summary for: MPAX-313-R-2016

Site Photos

Field photo showing stream conditions at site MPAX-313-R-2016_Midpoint looking downstream (Opens in a new window) Field photo showing stream conditions at site MPAX-313-R-2016_Midpoint looking upstream (Opens in a new window)

Located on Middle River Patuxent in the Middle Patuxent River watershed, 8-digit code: 02131106.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/15/2016 and again in the summer on 9/15/2016.

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 - 3.3 / 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 14,297 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 13.9 %
Agricultural Land Use 53.2 %
Forested Land Use 30 %


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 4/20 (Poor)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 8/20 (Marginal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 75 meters 		13/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 0 meters 		0/20 (Poor)
Shading 40 %
Embeddedness 70 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 70%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.


Stream Water Quality:
pH (lab) 7.63
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		812.6 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 2.0538 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 14 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Fallfish 147
Green Sunfish 143
Tessellated Darter 54
White Sucker 41
Bluegill 28
Redbreast Sunfish 14
Margined Madtom 12
Northern Hogsucker 9
American Eel 6
Common Shiner 5
Largemouth Bass 4
Smallmouth Bass 4
Creek Chub 2
Cutlip Minnow 2
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
American Bullfrog
Eastern American Toad
Pickerel Frog

Crayfish:
No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:
Garlic Mustard
Japanese Barberry
Japanese Stiltgrass
Mile-A-Minute
Multiflora Rose
Oriental Bittersweet
Wavyleaf Basketgrass
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 41
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 29
Maccaffertium March Brown And Cahill Mayfly 9
Hydrobaenus Midge 8
Hydropsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 7
Orthocladiinae Midge 3
Antocha Crane Fly 3
Tanytarsini Non-Biting Midges 3
Parakiefferiella European Non-Biting Midge 2
Prostoia Spring Stonefly 2
Polycentropus Tube Maker Caddisfly 2
Perlidae Common Stonefly 2
Oecetis Long-Horned Caddisfly 1
Clinocera Aquatic Dance Fly 1
Stegopterna Black Fly 1
Drunella Blue-Winged Olive Mayfly 1
Eukiefferiella Non-Biting Midges 1
Tvetenia Non-Biting Midges 1
Oulimnius Riffle Beetle 1
Ferrissia Small Air-Breathing Freshwater Limpets 1
Polypedilum Non-Biting Midges 1
Potthastia Non-Biting Midges 1
Sympotthastia 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.