MBSS Site Summary for: SASS-105-R-2007

Site Photos

Field photo showing stream conditions at site SASS-105-R-2007-1 (Opens in a new window) Field photo showing stream conditions at site SASS-105-R-2007-2 (Opens in a new window)

Located on Sassafrass River UT1 UT1 in the Sassafras River watershed, 8-digit code: 02130610.
This stream was visited in the spring on 4/18/2007 and again in the summer on 8/9/2007.

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 Good - 4.0 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Fair - 3.3 / 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 573 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 1.3 %
Agricultural Land Use 92.3 %
Forested Land Use 6.2 %


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 7/20 (Marginal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 6/20 (Marginal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 75 meters 		13/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 0 meters 		0/20 (Poor)
Shading 30 %
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 19.1 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 1.9 mg/L
Dissolved oxygen levels measured in the stream were very low (1.9 mg/L). Many fishes and other aquatic animals cannot tolerate low levels of oxygen in the water.
pH (lab) 6.29
Conductivity 257 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		313.1 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 2.504 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 10 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Golden Shiner 1190
Eastern Mosquitofish 848
Pumpkinseed 234
Bluegill 110
Eastern Mudminnow 100
Green Sunfish 26
American Eel 14
Largemouth Bass 4
Creek Chubsucker 3
Tessellated Darter 3
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
American Bullfrog
Common Five-Lined Skink
Fowler's Toad
Northern Green Frog

Crayfish:
Procambarus acutus acutus

Exotic Plants:
Common Reed (Phragmites)
Japanese Honeysuckle
Japanese Stiltgrass
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Procladius Non-Biting Midge 15
Cladopelma 13
Bezzia Biting Midge 9
Micropsectra Non-Biting Midges 8
Polypedilum Non-Biting Midges 6
Tanypodinae Non-Biting Midges 5
Caenis Mayfly 5
Coenagrionidae Narrowwinged Damselfly 3
Pseudochironomus Non-Biting Midge 3
Cryptotendipes 3
Endochironomus 3
Tanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 3
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 3
Phaenopsectra Non-Biting Midges 3
Dicrotendipes Non-Biting Midges 3
Caecidotea Isopod 2
Glyptotendipes 2
Sphaeromias 2
Hyalella Amphipod 2
Clinotanypus Non-Biting Midge 2
Limnophyes Non-Biting Midge 1
Corynoneura Non-Biting Midges 1
Cryptochironomus Non-Biting Midges 1
Naididae Aquatic Worm 1
Ceratopogon Biting Midge 1
Pseudolimnophila Crane Fly 1
Stenochironomus European Non-Biting Midge 1
Thienemannimyia group 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.