MBSS Site Summary for: PATL-508-X-2009

Site Photos

Located on Patapsco River in the Patapsco River L N Br watershed, 8-digit code: 02130906.
This stream was visited in the spring on 8/19/2009 and again in the summer on 8/25/2009.

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 N R

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 185,413 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 7 %
Agricultural Land Use 60 %
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 14/20 (Suboptimal)
Epifaunal Substrate 13/20 (Suboptimal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 17/20 (Optimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 53 meters 		14/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 37 meters 		16/20 (Optimal)
Shading 40 %
Embeddedness 55 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 55%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 23.5 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 7.2 mg/L
Conductivity 252 µmho/cm

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
Redbreast Sunfish 62
American Eel 60
Northern Hogsucker 46
Tessellated Darter 42
Bluntnose Minnow 32
Swallowtail Shiner 32
Satinfin Shiner 29
Rock Bass 15
Smallmouth Bass 11
Spottail Shiner 11
Cutlip Minnow 8
River Chub 8
White Sucker 7
Blue Ridge Sculpin 6
Central Stoneroller 6
Creek Chub 6
Banded Killifish 5
Longnose Dace 5
Blacknose Dace 1
Green Sunfish 1
Pumpkinseed 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
American Bullfrog
Eastern Gartersnake
Gray Treefrog
Northern Green Frog
Wood Frog

Crayfish:
Orconectes virilis

Exotic Plants:
Garlic Mustard
Japanese Hops
Japanese Stiltgrass
Mile-A-Minute
Oriental Bittersweet
Tree Of Heaven
Wineberry
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Benthic data unavailable.
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.