MBSS Site Summary for: PAXM-105-R-2009

Site Photos

Field photo showing stream conditions at site PAXM-105-R-2009-1 (Opens in a new window) Field photo showing stream conditions at site PAXM-105-R-2009-2 (Opens in a new window)

Located on Cabin Branch in the Patuxent River middle watershed, 8-digit code: 02131102.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/30/2009 and again in the summer on 6/17/2009.

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 - 3.3 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Fair - 3.6 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 1,307 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 2.6 %
Agricultural Land Use 67.7 %
Forested Land Use 29.8 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 7/20 (Marginal)
Epifaunal Substrate 4/20 (Poor)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 11/20 (Suboptimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 74 meters 		12/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 12 meters 		6/20 (Marginal)
Shading 75 %
Embeddedness 80 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 80%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 16.3 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 10.2 mg/L
pH (lab) 6.95
Conductivity 156 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		266.6 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 1.9825 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 8 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Blacknose Dace 216
Tessellated Darter 29
Creek Chubsucker 23
Bluegill 16
Green Sunfish 6
Pumpkinseed 3
Brown Bullhead 2
Golden Shiner 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Gray Treefrog
Northern Green Frog
Northern Two-Lined Salamander

Crayfish:
Orconectes limosus

Exotic Plants:
Japanese Honeysuckle
Japanese Stiltgrass
Multiflora Rose
Shrub Honeysuckle
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Tvetenia Non-Biting Midges 37
Tanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 25
Polypedilum Non-Biting Midges 22
Thienemannimyia Group Non-Biting Midges 13
Micropsectra Non-Biting Midges 8
Parametriocnemus Non-Biting Midges 7
Amphinemura Spring Stonefly 6
Acerpenna Tiny Blue-Winged Olive Mayflies 6
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 5
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 4
Orthocladiinae Midge 2
Lype Net Tube Caddisfly 1
Diplectrona Net-Spinning Caddisfly 1
Cricotopus Non-Biting Midges 1
Phagocata 1
Chelifera Aquatic Dance Fly 1
Naididae Aquatic Worm 1
Ceratopogonidae Biting Midge 1
Hexatoma Crane Fly 1
Tipula Crane Fly 1
Allocapnia Small Winter Stonefly 1
Isoperla Stripetail Stonefly 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.