MBSS Site Summary for: NCRW-217-N-2004


Located on MONOCACY R UT 1 in the Lower Monocacy River watershed, 8-digit code: 02140302.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/2/2004 and again in the summer on 6/23/2004.

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 - 1.5 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 688 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 9 %
Agricultural Land Use 63 %
Forested Land Use 23 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 9/20 (Marginal)
Epifaunal Substrate 9/20 (Marginal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 11/20 (Suboptimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 47 meters 		12/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 48 meters 		7/20 (Marginal)
Shading 88 %
Embeddedness 40 %


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 14.1 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 8.3 mg/L
pH (lab) 9.29
Conductivity 349 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		969.1 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 1.7 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
Blacknose Dace 255
Blue Ridge Sculpin 69
White Sucker 34
Bluegill 27
Fantail Darter 20
Bluntnose Minnow 19
Green Sunfish 17
Longnose Dace 14
Largemouth Bass 12
Creek Chub 7
Potomac Sculpin 6
Yellow Bullhead 5
Central Stoneroller 2
Lepomis Hybrid 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Northern Green Frog
Northern Two-Lined Salamander

Crayfish:
No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:
Japanese Honeysuckle
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Diamesa Bloodworm 8
Sympotthastia Non-Biting Midges 2
Thienemannimyia group Non-Biting Midges 2
Simulium Black Fly 1
Stegopterna Black Fly 1
Micropsectra Non-Biting Midges 1
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 1
Parametriocnemus 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.