MBSS Site Summary for: QA-N-042-116-95


Located on GRAVEL RUN in the Corsica River watershed, 8-digit code: 02130507.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/23/1995 and again in the summer on 7/11/1995.

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 - 4.3 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Fair - 3.0 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 1,465 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 5 %
Agricultural Land Use 82.2 %
Forested Land Use 12.5 %


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 1/20 (Poor)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 8/20 (Marginal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		9/20 (Marginal)
Riffle Quality 6/20 (Marginal)
Shading 60 %
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 23.3 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 6.9 mg/L
pH (lab) 7.23
Conductivity 248 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		1020 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 4 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 15 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Tessellated Darter 143
American Eel 60
Creek Chubsucker 49
Golden Shiner 19
Banded Killifish 16
Pumpkinseed 13
Mummichog 11
Eastern Mudminnow 7
Pirate Perch 5
Spottail Shiner 5
Bluegill 3
Redfin Pickerel 2
Yellow Perch 2
Brown Bullhead 1
Largemouth Bass 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
No amphibians and reptiles noted.

Crayfish:
No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:
No exotic plants noted.
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Cricotopus/Orthocladius Midge 27
Polypedilum Non-Biting Midges 10
Paratanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 9
Gammarus Amphipod 8
Limnodrilus Worm 7
Hydrobaenus Midge 6
Cricotopus Non-Biting Midges 6
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 6
Caecidotea Isopod 3
Tanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 3
Amphipoda Scud 2
Thienemannimyia Non-Biting Midges 1
Eurylophella Mayfly 1
Parametriocnemus Non-Biting Midges 1
Nanocladius Non-Biting Midges 1
Naididae Aquatic Worm 1
Stenelmis Beetle 1
Cladopelma 1
Culicoides 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.