MBSS Site Summary for: PATL-112-X-2014

Site Photos

Field photo showing stream conditions at site PATL-112-X-2014-1 (Opens in a new window) Field photo showing stream conditions at site PATL-112-X-2014-2 (Opens in a new window)

Located on DAVIS BRANCH in the Patapsco River L N Br watershed, 8-digit code: 02130906.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/12/2014 and again in the summer on 7/7/2014.

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 Poor - 2.7 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 1,094 acres A highly channelized urban stream with concrete banks. An example of a highly channelized urban stream.
Urban Land Use 39.6 %
Agricultural Land Use 36.2 %
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 16/20 (Optimal)
Epifaunal Substrate 13/20 (Suboptimal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 10/20 (Marginal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 9 meters 		3/20 (Poor)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 70 meters 		13/20 (Suboptimal)
Shading 95 %
Embeddedness 60 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 60%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.


Stream Water Quality:
No water quality measurements available for this site.

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 13 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Blue Ridge Sculpin 251
Longnose Dace 73
Blacknose Dace 37
Creek Chub 11
Bluegill 8
American Eel 7
White Sucker 5
Brown Trout 1
Central Stoneroller 1
Common Shiner 1
Cutlip Minnow 1
Rosyside Dace 1
Tessellated Darter 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Northern Two-Lined Salamander
Pickerel Frog
Wood Frog

Crayfish:
Cambarus bartonii bartonii
Orconectes virilis

Exotic Plants:
Garlic Mustard
Japanese Barberry
Japanese Honeysuckle
Japanese Stiltgrass
Mile-A-Minute
Multiflora Rose
Wavyleaf Basketgrass
Wineberry
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 28
Chimarra Fingernet Caddisfly 23
Hydropsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 14
Parametriocnemus Non-Biting Midges 8
Polypedilum Non-Biting Midges 6
Rheotanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 5
Maccaffertium March Brown And Cahill Mayfly 4
Tvetenia Non-Biting Midges 3
Orthocladiinae Midge 2
Tipula Crane Fly 2
Prosimulium Black Fly 2
Neophylax Caddisfly 2
Sympotthastia Non-Biting Midges 2
Diplectrona Net-Spinning Caddisfly 2
Corynoneura Non-Biting Midges 1
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 1
Paratanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 1
Antocha Crane Fly 1
Stegopterna Black Fly 1
Physa Air-Breathing Freshwater Snail 1
Nigronia Megaloptera (Dark Fishfly) 1
Microcylloepus Riffle Beetle 1
Optioservus Riffle Beetle 1
Ferrissia Small Air-Breathing Freshwater Limpets 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.