MBSS Site Summary for: NEAS-312-R-2015

Site Photos

Field photo showing stream conditions at site NEAS-312-R-2015_Midpoint-looking-downstream (Opens in a new window) Field photo showing stream conditions at site NEAS-312-R-2015_Midpoint-looking-upstream (Opens in a new window)

Located on 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 9/17/2015.

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 - 4.3 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Poor - 2.0 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 12,704 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 9.9 %
Agricultural Land Use 65.7 %
Forested Land Use 20.4 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 11/20 (Suboptimal)
Epifaunal Substrate 8/20 (Marginal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 12/20 (Suboptimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 63 meters 		11/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 12 meters 		9/20 (Marginal)
Shading 20 %
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) 7.66
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		839.7 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 2.4728 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 20 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
White Sucker 302
Spottail Shiner 178
Tessellated Darter 166
Bluegill 102
Cutlip Minnow 50
Rosyside Dace 37
Swallowtail Shiner 35
Largemouth Bass 31
Northern Hogsucker 29
Common Shiner 26
Blacknose Dace 25
Banded Killifish 16
Creek Chub 16
Pumpkinseed 13
Longnose Dace 12
American Eel 4
Brown Bullhead 3
Redbreast Sunfish 3
Satinfin Shiner 3
Tadpole Madtom 2
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Cope's Gray Treefrog
Northern Spring Peeper

Crayfish:
Orconectes limosus

Exotic Plants:
Japanese Honeysuckle
Japanese Stiltgrass
Mile-A-Minute
Multiflora Rose
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 53
Hydrobaenus Midge 23
Orthocladiinae Midge 10
Prosimulium Black Fly 8
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 3
Sympotthastia Non-Biting Midges 3
Ancyronyx Spider Riffle Beetle 2
Prostoia Spring Stonefly 2
Limnephilidae Northern Casemaker Caddisfly 1
Isonychia Slate Drake Mayfly 1
Naididae Aquatic Worm 1
Hydropsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 1
Dicrotendipes Non-Biting Midges 1
Diplocladius Non-Biting Midges 1
Maccaffertium March Brown And Cahill Mayfly 1
Paratanytarsus 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.