MBSS Site Summary for: PATL-510-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 8/27/2009.

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 Fair - 3.7 / 5.0
Benthic IBI N R

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 177,739 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 6 %
Agricultural Land Use 61.4 %
Forested Land Use 30 %


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 17/20 (Optimal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 18/20 (Optimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 75 meters 		13/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 75 meters 		18/20 (Optimal)
Shading 60 %
Embeddedness 45 %
Several measures of instream habitat were considered 'Optimal' at this location.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 23.8 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 7.9 mg/L
Conductivity 260 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 25 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Redbreast Sunfish 306
Satinfin Shiner 173
American Eel 78
Rock Bass 49
Cutlip Minnow 46
Smallmouth Bass 38
Tessellated Darter 38
Northern Hogsucker 31
Margined Madtom 27
Bluntnose Minnow 24
Blue Ridge Sculpin 20
Longnose Dace 18
River Chub 15
Swallowtail Shiner 15
Yellow Bullhead 15
Common Shiner 11
Bluegill 6
Green Sunfish 5
Creek Chub 4
Central Stoneroller 2
White Sucker 2
Banded Killifish 1
Blacknose Dace 1
Oriental Weatherfish 1
Pumpkinseed 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Eastern American Toad
Eastern Snapping Turtle
Northern Green Frog

Crayfish:
Orconectes virilis

Exotic Plants:
Garlic Mustard
Japanese Honeysuckle
Japanese Hops
Japanese Stiltgrass
Mile-A-Minute
Multiflora Rose
Oriental Bittersweet
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.