MBSS Site Summary for: PAXL-293-A-2011

Site Photos

Field photo showing stream conditions at site PAXL-293-A-2011-1 (Opens in a new window) Field photo showing stream conditions at site PAXL-293-A-2011-2 (Opens in a new window)

Located on PERSIMMON CREEK in the Patuxent River lower watershed, 8-digit code: 02131101.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/3/2011 and again in the summer on 6/13/2011.

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 Good - 4.1 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 905 acres A highly channelized urban stream with concrete banks. An example of a highly channelized urban stream.
Urban Land Use 18.6 %
Agricultural Land Use 3.1 %
Forested Land Use 75.8 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 8/20 (Marginal)
Epifaunal Substrate 5/20 (Poor)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 14/20 (Suboptimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 40 meters 		15/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 46 meters 		12/20 (Suboptimal)
Shading 90 %
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:
pH (lab) 7.405
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		908.8 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 2.6584 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 6 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Blacknose Dace 36
Eastern Mudminnow 13
Tessellated Darter 9
American Eel 6
Creek Chubsucker 3
Least Brook Lamprey 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Pickerel Frog
Southern Leopard Frog

Crayfish:
No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:
No Exotic Plants Observed
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 40
Prostoia Spring Stonefly 24
Prosimulium Black Fly 5
Parametriocnemus Non-Biting Midges 4
Isoperla Stripetail Stonefly 4
Thienemannimyia Group Non-Biting Midges 2
Macronychus Riffle Beetle 2
Ancyronyx Spider Riffle Beetle 2
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 2
Nigronia Megaloptera (Dark Fishfly) 2
Hydrobaenus Midge 2
Orthocladiinae Midge 2
Baetis Blue-Winged Olive Mayfly 2
Synurella Amphipod 2
Anchytarsus Beetle 2
Caecidotea Isopod 2
Maccaffertium March Brown And Cahill Mayfly 1
Stenelmis Beetle 1
Parakiefferiella European Non-Biting Midge 1
HEPTAGENIIDAE Flathead Mayfly 1
Pycnopsyche Great Autumn Brown Sedge Caddisfly 1
COENAGRIONIDAE Narrowwinged Damselfly 1
Corynoneura Non-Biting Midges 1
Diplocladius Non-Biting Midges 1
Thienemanniella Non-Biting Midges 1
Tvetenia Non-Biting Midges 1
Leptophlebia Pronggilled Mayfly 1
Gammarus Amphipod 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.