MBSS Site Summary for: PATL-205-X-2014

Site Photos

Field photo showing stream conditions at site PATL-205-X-2014-1 (Opens in a new window) Field photo showing stream conditions at site PATL-205-X-2014-2 (Opens in a new window)

Located on TIBER RUN 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 8/14/2014.

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 Fair - 3.7 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Poor - 1.7 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 2,440 acres A highly channelized urban stream with concrete banks. An example of a highly channelized urban stream.
Urban Land Use 65.5 %
Agricultural Land Use 2.9 %
Forested Land Use 30.5 %


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 12/20 (Suboptimal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 13/20 (Suboptimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 23 meters 		11/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 52 meters 		14/20 (Suboptimal)
Shading 90 %
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 14 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Blacknose Dace 41
Blue Ridge Sculpin 29
Longnose Dace 24
River Chub 23
Green Sunfish 17
American Eel 15
Central Stoneroller 13
Margined Madtom 9
White Sucker 7
Creek Chub 5
Common Shiner 4
Bluegill 2
Rosyside Dace 2
Smallmouth Bass 2
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Northern Water Snake

Crayfish:
Orconectes virilis

Exotic Plants:
English Ivy
Garlic Mustard
Japanese Honeysuckle
Japanese Knotweed
Multiflora Rose
Privet
Wineberry
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 34
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 18
Parametriocnemus Non-Biting Midges 11
Lumbriculidae Worm 10
Hydropsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 8
Thienemannimyia Group Non-Biting Midges 6
Physa Air-Breathing Freshwater Snail 5
Calopteryx Damselfly 4
Chimarra Fingernet Caddisfly 4
Hydrobaenus Midge 4
Tanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 4
Tipula Crane Fly 3
Crangonyx Amphipod 3
Paratanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 2
Sympotthastia Non-Biting Midges 1
Chironomini Non-Biting Midge 1
Enchytraeidae Aquatic Worm 1
Naididae Aquatic Worm 1
Tubificidae Aquatic Worm 1
Antocha Crane Fly 1
Limonia 1
Stenochironomus European Non-Biting Midge 1
Tvetenia Non-Biting Midges 1
Cordulegaster Spiketail Dragonfly 1
Psephenus Water Penny 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.