MBSS Site Summary for: QA-N-031-225-95


Located on ISLAND CR in the Southeast Creek watershed, 8-digit code: 02130508.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/31/1995 and again in the summer on 7/19/1995.

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 Good - 4.7 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Poor - 2.7 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 2,542 acres 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 0.3 %
Agricultural Land Use 64.8 %
Forested Land Use 34.3 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 6/20 (Marginal)
Epifaunal Substrate 2/20 (Poor)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 6/20 (Marginal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		15/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality 1/20 (Poor)
Shading 70 %
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 26.4 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 4.2 mg/L
Dissolved oxygen levels measured in the stream were very low (4.2 mg/L). Many fishes and other aquatic animals cannot tolerate low levels of oxygen in the water.
pH (lab) 7.16
Conductivity 230 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		1353 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 9 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 11 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Golden Shiner 73
Creek Chubsucker 57
Bluegill 36
Tadpole Madtom 28
Eastern Mudminnow 19
Pirate Perch 12
Largemouth Bass 9
American Eel 7
Brown Bullhead 6
Tessellated Darter 4
Redfin Pickerel 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
American Bullfrog
Northern Green Frog
Northern Watersnake

Crayfish:
No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:
No exotic plants noted.
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Physa Air-Breathing Freshwater Snail 21
Corixidae Water Boatman 10
Cladocera Water Flea 7
Caecidotea Isopod 5
Peltodytes Crawling Water Beetle 4
Derovatellus 3
Kiefferulus 3
Dicrotendipes Non-Biting Midges 3
Rheocricotopus Non-Biting Midges 2
Cricotopus/Orthocladius Midge 2
Coenagrionidae Narrowwinged Damselfly 1
Hyalella Amphipod 1
Copepoda Copepod 1
Nehalennia 1
Parachironomus 1
Endochironomus 1
Pisidiidae Pill Clam 1
Ostracoda Seed Shrimp 1
Libellulidae Skimmer Dragonfly 1
Callibaetis Speckled Dun Mayfly 1
Polypedilum 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.