MBSS Site Summary for: PATL-501-X-2013

Site Photos

Field photo showing stream conditions at site PATL-501-X-2013-1 (Opens in a new window) Field photo showing stream conditions at site PATL-501-X-2013-2 (Opens in a new window)

Located on PATAPSCO RIVER in the Patapsco River L N Br watershed, 8-digit code: 02130906.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/4/2013 and again in the summer on 7/31/2013.

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 - 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 195,371 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 8.4 %
Agricultural Land Use 57.9 %
Forested Land Use 31.3 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 9/20 (Marginal)
Epifaunal Substrate 7/20 (Marginal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 11/20 (Suboptimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 60 meters 		11/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 27 meters 		10/20 (Marginal)
Shading 15 %
Embeddedness 65 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 65%. 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 27 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Swallowtail Shiner 215
American Eel 153
River Chub 90
Satinfin Shiner 88
Spotfin Shiner 88
Redbreast Sunfish 65
Tessellated Darter 43
Bluntnose Minnow 33
Central Stoneroller 31
Spottail Shiner 29
Bluegill 27
Common Shiner 27
Northern Hogsucker 23
Fallfish 16
White Sucker 10
Margined Madtom 9
Creek Chub 6
Smallmouth Bass 6
Banded Killifish 4
Yellow Bullhead 4
Channel Catfish 2
Longnose Dace 2
Quillback 2
Rock Bass 2
Sea Lamprey 2
Blacknose Dace 1
Largemouth Bass 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Northern Green Frog
Northern Water Snake

Crayfish:
Orconectes virilis

Exotic Plants:
Japanese Hops
Japanese Knotweed
Japanese Stiltgrass
Mile-A-Minute
Oriental Bittersweet
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Gammarus Amphipod 83
Strophopteryx Early Brown Stonefly 11
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 5
Prostoia Spring Stonefly 4
Hydropsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 3
Stenelmis Beetle 2
Orthocladiinae Midge 2
Isonychia Slate Drake Mayfly 1
Maccaffertium March Brown And Cahill Mayfly 1
Caenis Mayfly 1
TUBIFICIDAE Aquatic Worm 1
Ephemerella Sulphur Mayfly 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.