MBSS Site Summary for: PRMO-203-X-2015


Located on SANDY BRANCH in the Potomac River MO Cnty watershed, 8-digit code: 02140202.
This stream was visited in the spring on 4/28/2015 and again in the summer on 8/24/2015.

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 Poor - 2.3 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 1,474 acres A highly channelized urban stream with concrete banks. An example of a highly channelized urban stream.
Urban Land Use 62.6 %
Agricultural Land Use 5.4 %
Forested Land Use 21.2 %


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 6/20 (Marginal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 11/20 (Suboptimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 67 meters 		12/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 8 meters 		6/20 (Marginal)
Shading 40 %
Embeddedness 60 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 60%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.


Stream Water Quality:
No water quality measurements available for this site.

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 15 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Blacknose Dace 524
Rosyside Dace 131
Fantail Darter 71
Central Stoneroller 54
Creek Chub 45
Potomac Sculpin 32
Silverjaw Minnow 15
Longnose Dace 12
White Sucker 12
Bluegill 6
Eastern Mosquitofish 3
Green Sunfish 2
Largemouth Bass 2
Bluehead Chub 1
Bluntnose Minnow 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Northern Green Frog

Crayfish:
Orconectes virilis

Exotic Plants:
Japanese Honeysuckle
Japanese Stiltgrass
Mile-A-Minute
Multiflora Rose
Oriental Bittersweet
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Tanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 25
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 24
Polypedilum Non-Biting Midges 14
Rheocricotopus Non-Biting Midges 8
Thienemannimyia Group Non-Biting Midges 7
Thienemanniella Non-Biting Midges 6
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 6
Hydrobaenus Midge 5
Microtendipes Non-Biting Midges 5
Cricotopus Non-Biting Midges 4
Dicrotendipes Non-Biting Midges 3
Tanytarsini Non-Biting Midges 3
Hemerodromia Tiny Fly 2
Chironomini Non-Biting Midge 2
Orthocladiinae Midge 2
Antocha Crane Fly 2
Paratendipes European Non-Biting Midge 2
Chimarra Fingernet Caddisfly 1
Caenis Mayfly 1
Tubificidae Aquatic Worm 1
Stenelmis Beetle 1
Ceratopogonidae Biting Midge 1
Baetis Blue-Winged Olive Mayfly 1
Argia Narrow-Winged Damselfly 1
Hydropsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 1
Tribelos Non-Biting Midges 1
Dubiraphia Riffle Beetle 1
Optioservus Riffle Beetle 1
Sympotthastia Non-Biting Midges 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.