MBSS Site Summary for: PG-S-052-109-95


Located on WOLF DEN BR in the Zekiah Swamp watershed, 8-digit code: 02140108.
This stream was visited in the spring on 4/28/1995 and again in the summer on 6/12/1995.

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 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 757 acres A stream flowing through a densely forested area. An example of a forested stream.
Urban Land Use 10.5 %
Agricultural Land Use 15.9 %
Forested Land Use 72.9 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 11/20 (Suboptimal)
Epifaunal Substrate 7/20 (Marginal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 12/20 (Suboptimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		11/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality 13/20 (Suboptimal)
Shading 90 %
Embeddedness 65 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 65%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 19.5 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 6 mg/L
pH (lab) 5.98
Conductivity 102 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		58.8 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 5 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 9 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Fallfish 17
Rosyside Dace 16
Tessellated Darter 9
Least Brook Lamprey 5
Pirate Perch 4
Chain Pickerel 2
American Eel 1
Eastern Mudminnow 1
Margined Madtom 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
American Bullfrog
Northern Two-Lined Salamander
Pickerel Frog

Crayfish:
No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:
No exotic plants noted.
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Stegopterna Black Fly 154
Micropsectra Non-Biting Midges 25
Prosimulium Black Fly 12
Acerpenna Tiny Blue-Winged Olive Mayflies 11
Optioservus Riffle Beetle 5
Oulimnius Riffle Beetle 4
Anchytarsus Beetle 3
Dicranota Hairy-Eyed Cranefly 3
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 2
Rheotanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 2
Tanypodinae Non-Biting Midges 1
Stenelmis Beetle 1
Tabanus Biting Horsefly 1
Parametriocnemus Non-Biting Midges 1
Hydropsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 1
Chironominae Non-Biting Midge 1
Neophylax Caddisfly 1
Gomphidae Clubtail Dragonfly 1
Hexatoma Crane Fly 1
Eccoptura Yellow Stone 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.