MBSS Site Summary for: PRUT-102-B-2007

Site Photos

Field photo showing stream conditions at site PRUT-102-B-2007-1 (Opens in a new window) Field photo showing stream conditions at site PRUT-102-B-2007-2 (Opens in a new window)

Located on Henson Creek in the Potomac River U tidal watershed, 8-digit code: 02140201.
This stream was visited in the spring on 4/10/2007 and again in the summer on 6/11/2007.

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 Poor - 1.9 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 849 acres A highly channelized urban stream with concrete banks. An example of a highly channelized urban stream.
Urban Land Use 73.5 %
Agricultural Land Use 1.8 %
Forested Land Use 23.5 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 9/20 (Marginal)
Epifaunal Substrate 8/20 (Marginal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 7/20 (Marginal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 70 meters 		6/20 (Marginal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 25 meters 		11/20 (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 22.4 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 7.9 mg/L
pH (lab) 7.03
Conductivity 421 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		496.1 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 1.0315 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
Swallowtail Shiner 319
Blacknose Dace 233
Satinfin Shiner 120
Redbreast Sunfish 38
Tessellated Darter 13
Creek Chub 12
Mummichog 3
Green Sunfish 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Northern Dusky Salamander

Crayfish:
Orconectes limosus

Exotic Plants:
Garlic Mustard
Japanese Honeysuckle
Multiflora Rose
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 67
Polypedilum Non-Biting Midges 17
Rheocricotopus Non-Biting Midges 6
Cricotopus Non-Biting Midges 5
Cryptochironomus Non-Biting Midges 3
Thienemannimyia group Non-Biting Midges 2
Argia Narrow-Winged Damselfly 2
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 2
Ablabesmyia Non-Biting Midge 1
Naididae Aquatic Worm 1
Calopteryx Damselfly 1
Orthocladiinae Midge 1
Rheosmittia Non-Biting Midges 1
Boyeria Spotted Darner Dragonfly 1
Nanocladius 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.