MBSS Site Summary for: NASS-302-S-2006


Located on Nassawango Creek in the Nassawango Creek watershed, 8-digit code: 02130205.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/8/2006 and again in the summer on 6/13/2006.

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 Good - 4.3 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Good - 5.0 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 19,604 acres A stream flowing through a densely forested area. An example of a forested stream.
Urban Land Use 0.7 %
Agricultural Land Use 32.7 %
Forested Land Use 61.6 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 18/20 (Optimal)
Epifaunal Substrate 12/20 (Suboptimal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 10/20 (Marginal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 75 meters 		19/20 (Optimal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 0 meters 		0/20 (Poor)
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 15.8 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 6.8 mg/L
pH (lab) 6.49
Conductivity 66 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		194.5 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 9.3589 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
Golden Shiner 67
Pirate Perch 46
American Eel 37
Creek Chubsucker 24
Tadpole Madtom 17
Brown Bullhead 12
Pumpkinseed 12
Chain Pickerel 9
Yellow Perch 9
Eastern Mudminnow 8
Redfin Pickerel 5
Yellow Bullhead 5
Margined Madtom 1
Tessellated Darter 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Northern Green Frog
Pickerel Frog

Crayfish:
Cambaridae
Orconectes limosus
Procambarus acutus acutus

Exotic Plants:
Japanese Stiltgrass
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Leptophlebia Pronggilled Mayfly 24
Unniella Non-Biting Midge 15
Hydroporus Water Beetle 11
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 9
Palaemonetes 7
Parametriocnemus Non-Biting Midges 5
Triaenodes Long-Horned Caddisfly 5
Crangonyx Amphipod 3
Dubiraphia Riffle Beetle 3
Tribelos Non-Biting Midges 2
Limnephilidae Northern Casemaker Caddisfly 2
Caecidotea Isopod 2
Hyalella Amphipod 2
Zalutschia Non-Biting Midge 2
Micropsectra Non-Biting Midges 1
Ablabesmyia Non-Biting Midge 1
Paraphaenocladius Non-Biting Midges 1
Tanytarsini Non-Biting Midges 1
Bezzia Biting Midge 1
Tipulidae Cranefly 1
Physa Air-Breathing Freshwater Snail 1
Notonecta 1
Nyctiophylax 1
Leptophlebiidae Pronggilled Mayfly 1
Pisidiidae Pill Clam 1
Zavrelimyia Non-Biting Midges 1
Ancyronyx Spider Riffle Beetle 1
Ephemerellidae Spiny Crawler Mayfly 1
Polycentropus Tube Maker Caddisfly 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.