MBSS Site Summary for: QA-N-079-316-95


Located on THREE BRIDGES BR in the Corsica River watershed, 8-digit code: 02130507.
This stream was visited in the spring on 4/6/1995 and again in the summer on 7/12/1995.

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 - 4.0 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Good - 4.4 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
(Hint: Screen readers will announce definitions; mouse users can hover over dotted text.)
Catchment area 5,500 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 0.4 %
Agricultural Land Use 70.7 %
Forested Land Use 28.2 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 8/20 (Marginal)
Epifaunal Substrate 2/20 (Poor)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 10/20 (Marginal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		15/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality 5/20 (Poor)
Shading 80 %
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 22 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 7.2 mg/L
pH (lab) 7.64
Conductivity 241 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		1249 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 16 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Tessellated Darter 123
Eastern Mudminnow 45
American Eel 32
Creek Chubsucker 17
Fallfish 14
Redfin Pickerel 5
White Sucker 5
Bluegill 3
Satinfin Shiner 3
Yellow Perch 3
Golden Shiner 2
Swallowtail Shiner 2
Largemouth Bass 1
Pumpkinseed 1
Spottail Shiner 1
White Perch 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
American Bullfrog
Northern Green Frog

Crayfish:
No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:
No exotic plants noted.
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Eurylophella Mayfly 26
Stenonema Flatheaded Mayfly 9
Cricotopus/Orthocladius Midge 4
Physa Air-Breathing Freshwater Snail 4
Gammarus Amphipod 3
Trissopelopia Non-Biting Midges 3
Isoperla Stripetail Stonefly 3
Acerpenna Tiny Blue-Winged Olive Mayflies 3
Microtendipes Non-Biting Midges 2
Paraleptophlebia Blue Quill Mayfly 2
Peltodytes Crawling Water Beetle 2
Calopteryx Damselfly 1
Eukiefferiella Non-Biting Midges 1
Phylocentropus Caddisfly 1
Dubiraphia Riffle Beetle 1
Macronychus Riffle Beetle 1
Corixidae Water Boatman 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.