MBSS Site Summary for: PATL-511-X-2010

Site Photos

Field photo showing stream conditions at site PATL-511-X-2010-1 (Opens in a new window) Field photo showing stream conditions at site PATL-511-X-2010-2 (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 3/10/2010 and again in the summer on 8/6/2010.

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 166,096 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 5.6 %
Agricultural Land Use 62.3 %
Forested Land Use 29.4 %


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 16/20 (Optimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 75 meters 		15/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 56 meters 		17/20 (Optimal)
Shading 65 %
Embeddedness 30 %
Several measures of instream habitat were considered 'Optimal' at this location.


Stream Water Quality:
pH (lab) 7.865
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		671 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 0.205 mg/L

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 19 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
American Eel 139
Redbreast Sunfish 114
Cutlip Minnow 108
Blue Ridge Sculpin 79
Spotfin Shiner 57
Rock Bass 50
Smallmouth Bass 47
Bluntnose Minnow 29
Northern Hogsucker 27
River Chub 22
Tessellated Darter 20
White Sucker 11
Longnose Dace 8
Margined Madtom 5
Green Sunfish 4
Central Stoneroller 3
Swallowtail Shiner 3
Yellow Bullhead 2
Common Shiner 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Northern Water Snake
Pickerel Frog
Queen Snake

Crayfish:
No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:
Garlic Mustard
Japanese Barberry
Japanese Honeysuckle
Japanese Hops
Japanese Stiltgrass
Multiflora Rose
Wavyleaf Basketgrass
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.