MBSS Site Summary for: ROCK-102-R-2009

Site Photos

Field photo showing stream conditions at site ROCK-102-R-2009-1 (Opens in a new window) Field photo showing stream conditions at site ROCK-102-R-2009-2 (Opens in a new window)

Located on Rock Creek in the Rock Creek watershed, 8-digit code: 02140206.
This stream was visited in the spring on 4/2/2009 and again in the summer on 7/22/2009.

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 Good - 4.0 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 787 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 7.6 %
Agricultural Land Use 56.7 %
Forested Land Use 35.1 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 13/20 (Suboptimal)
Epifaunal Substrate 10/20 (Marginal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 11/20 (Suboptimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 61 meters 		12/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 21 meters 		9/20 (Marginal)
Shading 80 %
Embeddedness 50 %


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 20.1 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 7.7 mg/L
pH (lab) 7.09
Conductivity 100 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		433.8 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 2.413 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 9 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Blacknose Dace 70
Potomac Sculpin 38
Eastern Mosquitofish 22
Rosyside Dace 21
White Sucker 11
Green Sunfish 7
Creek Chub 6
Longnose Dace 4
Tessellated Darter 3
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Northern Green Frog
Northern Spring Peeper
Pickerel Frog

Crayfish:
Cambarus bartonii bartonii
Orconectes virilis

Exotic Plants:
Garlic Mustard
Japanese Barberry
Japanese Honeysuckle
Japanese Stiltgrass
Multiflora Rose
Shrub Honeysuckle
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Prosimulium Black Fly 32
Amphinemura Spring Stonefly 22
Simulium Black Fly 9
Parametriocnemus Non-Biting Midges 9
Neophylax Caddisfly 7
Ameletus Combmouthed Minnow Mayfly 7
Polypedilum Non-Biting Midges 6
Hydrobaenus Midge 4
Stegopterna Black Fly 3
Oulimnius Riffle Beetle 3
Ephemerella Sulphur Mayfly 3
Diplectrona Net-Spinning Caddisfly 2
Limnephilidae Northern Casemaker Caddisfly 2
Optioservus Riffle Beetle 1
Eukiefferiella Non-Biting Midges 1
Natarsia Non-Biting Midges 1
Orthocladiinae Midge 1
Naididae Aquatic Worm 1
Stenelmis Beetle 1
Tipula Crane Fly 1
Tipulidae Cranefly 1
Maccaffertium March Brown And Cahill Mayfly 1
Lumbriculidae Worm 1
Ephemerellidae Spiny Crawler Mayfly 1
Prostoia Spring Stonefly 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.