MBSS Site Summary for: NEAS-315-R-2008

Site Photos

Field photo showing stream conditions at site NEAS-315-R-2008-1 (Opens in a new window) Field photo showing stream conditions at site NEAS-315-R-2008-2 (Opens in a new window)

Located on NORTHEAST CREEK in the Northeast River watershed, 8-digit code: 02130608.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/4/2008 and again in the summer on 8/20/2008.

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 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 10,741 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 2.7 %
Agricultural Land Use 78.3 %
Forested Land Use 17.9 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 13/20 (Suboptimal)
Epifaunal Substrate 11/20 (Suboptimal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 7/20 (Marginal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 75 meters 		17/20 (Optimal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 0 meters 		0/20 (Poor)
Shading 90 %
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:
Water temperature 18.3 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 6.7 mg/L
pH (lab) 7.7
Conductivity 178 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		815.8 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 1.8159 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 19 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Spottail Shiner 224
White Sucker 187
Tessellated Darter 65
Common Shiner 53
Rosyside Dace 37
Creek Chub 33
Satinfin Shiner 28
Swallowtail Shiner 24
Pumpkinseed 20
Redbreast Sunfish 17
Bluegill 14
Banded Killifish 8
Cutlip Minnow 8
Largemouth Bass 7
Golden Shiner 6
Margined Madtom 5
Northern Hogsucker 5
American Eel 3
Brown Bullhead 3
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
American Bullfrog
Eastern American Toad
Fowler's Toad
Northern Green Frog
Northern Spring Peeper
Pickerel Frog

Crayfish:
Orconectes limosus

Exotic Plants:
Garlic Mustard
Japanese Honeysuckle
Japanese Hops
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 48
Prosimulium Black Fly 32
Tribelos Non-Biting Midges 13
Paratanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 4
Chimarra Fingernet Caddisfly 2
Maccaffertium March Brown And Cahill Mayfly 2
Corynoneura Non-Biting Midges 2
Diplocladius Non-Biting Midges 1
Parametriocnemus Non-Biting Midges 1
Eurylophella Mayfly 1
Stenonema Flatheaded Mayfly 1
Rheotanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 1
Sympotthastia Non-Biting Midges 1
Tanypodinae Non-Biting Midges 1
Tanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 1
Thienemanniella Non-Biting Midges 1
Baetidae Small Minnow Mayfly 1
Boyeria Spotted Darner Dragonfly 1
Polycentropus Tube Maker Caddisfly 1
Sialis Alderfly 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.