MBSS Site Summary for: PG-N-195-005-95


Located on Western Branch in the Western Branch watershed, 8-digit code: 02131103.
This stream was visited in the summer on 8/30/1995.

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 N R
Benthic IBI N R

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area No data available 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 No data available
Agricultural Land Use No data available
Forested Land Use No data available


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 10/20 (Marginal)
Epifaunal Substrate 7/20 (Marginal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 8/20 (Marginal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		17/20 (Optimal)
Riffle Quality 11/20 (Suboptimal)
Shading 75 %
Embeddedness 100 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 100%. This is very high, and may adversely affect biotic communities.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 20.8 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 4.3 mg/L
Dissolved oxygen levels measured in the stream were very low (4.3 mg/L). Many fishes and other aquatic animals cannot tolerate low levels of oxygen in the water.
Conductivity 290 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 18 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Swallowtail Shiner 26
Tessellated Darter 20
Satinfin Shiner 16
American Eel 14
Eastern Mosquitofish 13
Redbreast Sunfish 7
Fallfish 6
Bluegill 5
Cutlip Minnow 5
Pumpkinseed 4
White Sucker 3
Largemouth Bass 2
Least Brook Lamprey 2
Rosyside Dace 2
Sea Lamprey 2
Creek Chub 1
Yellow Bullhead 1
Yellow Perch 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
American Bullfrog
Eastern American Toad
Northern Green Frog
Pickerel Frog

Crayfish:
No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:
No exotic plants noted.
 

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.