MBSS Site Summary for: PRMO-208-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 8/28/2015.

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 1,263 acres A highly channelized urban stream with concrete banks. An example of a highly channelized urban stream.
Urban Land Use 64.7 %
Agricultural Land Use 1 %
Forested Land Use 22.9 %


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 11/20 (Suboptimal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 11/20 (Suboptimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 58 meters 		12/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 21 meters 		8/20 (Marginal)
Shading 70 %
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:
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 10 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Blacknose Dace 255
Rosyside Dace 88
Creek Chub 49
Fantail Darter 30
Potomac Sculpin 23
White Sucker 13
Longnose Dace 8
Silverjaw Minnow 8
Central Stoneroller 7
Green Sunfish 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
No amphibians and reptiles noted.

Crayfish:
Orconectes virilis

Exotic Plants:
English Ivy
Japanese Honeysuckle
Japanese Stiltgrass
Mile-A-Minute
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Polypedilum Non-Biting Midges 21
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 15
Thienemannimyia Group Non-Biting Midges 8
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 6
Chimarra Fingernet Caddisfly 5
Tanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 5
Sympotthastia Non-Biting Midges 4
Tvetenia Non-Biting Midges 4
Rheotanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 3
Antocha Crane Fly 3
Neoplasta 2
Hydrobaenus Midge 2
Diamesa Bloodworm 2
Parametriocnemus Non-Biting Midges 2
Microtendipes Non-Biting Midges 2
Rheocricotopus Non-Biting Midges 2
Hemerodromia Tiny Fly 2
Tanytarsini Non-Biting Midges 2
Psephenus Water Penny 1
Glossosomatidae Saddlecase Maker Caddisfly 1
Amphinemura Spring Stonefly 1
Tanypodinae Non-Biting Midges 1
Thienemanniella Non-Biting Midges 1
Chironomini Non-Biting Midge 1
Baetis Blue-Winged Olive Mayfly 1
Orthocladiinae Midge 1
Perlesta 1
Synorthocladius 1
Gammarus Amphipod 1
Simulium Black Fly 1
Tipula Crane Fly 1
Empididae Dance Fly 1
Stenochironomus European Non-Biting Midge 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.