MBSS Site Summary for: SBPA-302-X-2015

Site Photos

Field photo showing stream conditions at site SBPA-302-X-2015_Midpoint-looking-downstream (Opens in a new window) Field photo showing stream conditions at site SBPA-302-X-2015_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 3/18/2015 and again in the summer on 9/9/2015.

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 Poor - 2.7 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 9,657 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 26.2 %
Agricultural Land Use 45.1 %
Forested Land Use 24.7 %


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 9/20 (Marginal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 8/20 (Marginal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 43 meters 		8/20 (Marginal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 38 meters 		11/20 (Suboptimal)
Shading 25 %
Embeddedness 15 %


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 20 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Blacknose Dace 360
Blue Ridge Sculpin 192
Satinfin Shiner 140
Cutlip Minnow 136
Longnose Dace 126
Tessellated Darter 90
Rosyside Dace 59
Common Shiner 37
Northern Hogsucker 33
Swallowtail Shiner 32
Central Stoneroller 29
White Sucker 23
Redbreast Sunfish 20
American Eel 18
Margined Madtom 18
Yellow Bullhead 13
Creek Chub 12
Banded Killifish 7
Largemouth Bass 3
Fathead Minnow 2
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Cope's Gray Treefrog
Northern Green Frog
Northern Spring Peeper

Crayfish:
Orconectes virilis

Exotic Plants:
Autumn Olive
Japanese Barberry
Japanese Honeysuckle
Japanese Hops
Japanese Stiltgrass
Multiflora Rose
Oriental Bittersweet
Wineberry
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 23
Tvetenia Non-Biting Midges 18
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 16
Rheotanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 14
Hydropsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 7
Prostoia Spring Stonefly 7
Microtendipes Non-Biting Midges 3
Sympotthastia Non-Biting Midges 3
Antocha Crane Fly 3
Parakiefferiella European Non-Biting Midge 2
Ceratopogonidae Biting Midge 2
Parametriocnemus Non-Biting Midges 2
Eukiefferiella Non-Biting Midges 2
Hydrobaenus Midge 2
Orthocladiinae Midge 1
Rheocricotopus Non-Biting Midges 1
Thienemanniella Non-Biting Midges 1
Prosimulium Black Fly 1
Simulium Black Fly 1
Synorthocladius 1
Physa Air-Breathing Freshwater Snail 1
Clinocera Aquatic Dance Fly 1
Maccaffertium March Brown And Cahill Mayfly 1
Hydroptila Microcaddisfly 1
Hemerodromia Tiny Fly 1
Dubiraphia Riffle Beetle 1
Macronychus Riffle Beetle 1
Optioservus Riffle Beetle 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.