MBSS Site Summary for: SBPA-201-X-2016

Site Photos

Field photo showing stream conditions at site SBPA-201-X-2016_midpoint looking downstream (Opens in a new window) Field photo showing stream conditions at site SBPA-201-X-2016_midpoint looking upstream (Opens in a new window)

Located on Piney Run in the S Branch Patapsco watershed, 8-digit code: 02130908.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/3/2016 and again in the summer on 6/13/2016.

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 - 2.3 / 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 7,895 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 18.2 %
Agricultural Land Use 50.6 %
Forested Land Use 26.3 %


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 6/20 (Marginal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 12/20 (Suboptimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 50 meters 		12/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 25 meters 		11/20 (Suboptimal)
Shading 10 %
Embeddedness 80 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 80%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.


Stream Water Quality:
No water quality measurements available for this site.

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 17 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Blue Ridge Sculpin 248
Banded Killifish 84
Cutlip Minnow 58
Common Shiner 50
Longnose Dace 48
Blacknose Dace 35
Swallowtail Shiner 32
Margined Madtom 21
American Eel 20
Redbreast Sunfish 19
Northern Hogsucker 16
Tessellated Darter 16
Central Stoneroller 11
Yellow Bullhead 5
Creek Chub 4
White Sucker 2
Bluntnose Minnow 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
American Bullfrog
Eastern Snapping Turtle
Pickerel Frog

Crayfish:
No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:
Autumn Olive
Callery Pear
Canada Thistle
Garlic Mustard
Japanese Barberry
Japanese Honeysuckle
Japanese Stiltgrass
Mile-A-Minute
Multiflora Rose
Myriophyllum Spicatum
Oriental Bittersweet
Privet
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 42
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 29
Prostoia Spring Stonefly 11
Hydropsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 10
Hydrobaenus Midge 4
Tvetenia Non-Biting Midges 4
Prosimulium Black Fly 4
Simulium Black Fly 4
Chimarra Fingernet Caddisfly 3
Girardia Freshwater Flatworm 1
Maccaffertium March Brown And Cahill Mayfly 1
Hydroptila Microcaddisfly 1
Antocha Crane Fly 1
Chaoborus 1
Corbicula Basket Clam 1
Pisidiidae Pill Clam 1
Rheotanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 1
Orthocladiinae Midge 1
Argia Narrow-Winged Damselfly 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.