MBSS Site Summary for: NEAS-109-R-2015

Site Photos

Field photo showing stream conditions at site NEAS-109-R-2015_Midpoint-looking-downstream (Opens in a new window) Field photo showing stream conditions at site NEAS-109-R-2015_Midpoint-looking-upstream (Opens in a new window)

Located on LITTLE NORTH EAST CREEK in the Northeast River watershed, 8-digit code: 02130608.
This stream was visited in the spring on 4/2/2015 and again in the summer on 9/18/2015.

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 - 4.0 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Fair - 3.3 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 4,224 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 15 %
Agricultural Land Use 58.2 %
Forested Land Use 23.4 %


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 10/20 (Marginal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 9/20 (Marginal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 75 meters 		12/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 4 meters 		5/20 (Poor)
Shading 50 %
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:
pH (lab) 7.77
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		527.1 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 1.9004 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 17 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
White Sucker 301
Common Shiner 190
Tessellated Darter 148
Creek Chub 44
Northern Hogsucker 38
Smallmouth Bass 33
Largemouth Bass 27
Redbreast Sunfish 18
Cutlip Minnow 15
Rosyside Dace 13
American Eel 12
Swallowtail Shiner 10
Bluegill 7
Blue Ridge Sculpin 2
Green Sunfish 2
Margined Madtom 1
Pumpkinseed 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Northern Spring Peeper

Crayfish:
Orconectes limosus

Exotic Plants:
Autumn Olive
Japanese Honeysuckle
Japanese Stiltgrass
Mile-A-Minute
Multiflora Rose
Oriental Bittersweet
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Hydrobaenus Midge 20
Polycentropus Tube Maker Caddisfly 11
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 8
Peltodytes Crawling Water Beetle 6
Phaenopsectra Non-Biting Midges 5
Procladius Non-Biting Midge 5
Microtendipes Non-Biting Midges 5
Paramerina Non-Biting Midge 4
Dicrotendipes Non-Biting Midges 3
Sympotthastia Non-Biting Midges 3
Paratanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 3
Calopteryx Damselfly 3
Physa Air-Breathing Freshwater Snail 3
Argia Narrow-Winged Damselfly 3
Prodiamesa 2
Leptophlebiidae Pronggilled Mayfly 2
Ceratopogonidae Biting Midge 2
Ancyronyx Spider Riffle Beetle 2
Boyeria Spotted Darner Dragonfly 1
Micropsectra Non-Biting Midges 1
Brillia Non-Biting Midges 1
Chironomus Non-Biting Midges 1
Cricotopus Non-Biting Midges 1
Cryptochironomus Non-Biting Midges 1
Macronychus Riffle Beetle 1
Microvelia Small Water Strider Beetle 1
Trissopelopia Non-Biting Midges 1
Zavrelimyia Non-Biting Midges 1
Pseudosuccinea Air Breathing Freshwater Snail 1
Belostoma 1
Mystacides 1
Chimarra Fingernet Caddisfly 1
Maccaffertium March Brown And Cahill Mayfly 1
Stenacron Mayfly 1
Nigronia Megaloptera (Dark Fishfly) 1
Enallagma Narrow-Winged Damselfly 1
Lype Net Tube Caddisfly 1
Ablabesmyia Non-Biting Midge 1
Hyalella Amphipod 1
Orthocladiinae Midge 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.