MBSS Site Summary for: PATL-213-X-2016

Site Photos

Field photo showing stream conditions at site PATL-213-X-2016_midpoint looking downstream (Opens in a new window) Field photo showing stream conditions at site PATL-213-X-2016_midpoint looking upstream (Opens in a new window)

Located on Brice Run in the Patapsco River L N Br watershed, 8-digit code: 02130906.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/8/2016 and again in the summer on 6/8/2016.

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 - 5.0 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Poor - 2.7 / 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 6,356 acres A stream flowing through a densely forested area. An example of a forested stream.
Urban Land Use 17.7 %
Agricultural Land Use 32.5 %
Forested Land Use 47.5 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 17/20 (Optimal)
Epifaunal Substrate 18/20 (Optimal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 17/20 (Optimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 25 meters 		14/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 55 meters 		18/20 (Optimal)
Shading 40 %
Embeddedness 60 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 60%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.
Several measures of instream habitat were considered 'Optimal' at this location.


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 21 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Blue Ridge Sculpin 761
Blacknose Dace 279
Tessellated Darter 157
Longnose Dace 117
Rosyside Dace 112
Cutlip Minnow 97
White Sucker 95
Bluntnose Minnow 49
Central Stoneroller 41
Yellow Bullhead 15
American Eel 14
River Chub 9
Fathead Minnow 6
Margined Madtom 6
Rock Bass 5
Creek Chub 3
Redbreast Sunfish 3
Green Sunfish 2
Rosyface Shiner 1
Smallmouth Bass 1
Spottail Shiner 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Northern Green Frog
Pickerel Frog

Crayfish:
No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:
Garlic Mustard
Japanese Honeysuckle
Japanese Stiltgrass
Multiflora Rose
Oriental Bittersweet
Wineberry
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Gammarus Amphipod 38
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 21
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 20
Hydropsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 5
Parametriocnemus Non-Biting Midges 4
Ephemerella Sulphur Mayfly 4
Prostoia Spring Stonefly 3
Clinocera Aquatic Dance Fly 3
Corydalus Dobsonfly 2
Diamesa Bloodworm 2
Rheotanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 2
Sympotthastia Non-Biting Midges 1
Amphinemura Spring Stonefly 1
Diamesinae Non-Biting Midges 1
Micropsectra Non-Biting Midges 1
Perlidae Common Stonefly 1
Antocha Crane Fly 1
Tipula Crane Fly 1
Maccaffertium March Brown And Cahill Mayfly 1
Orthocladiinae Midge 1
Naididae Aquatic Worm 1
Synorthocladius 1
Polycentropus Tube Maker Caddisfly 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.