MBSS Site Summary for: SBPA-424-R-2000

Site Photos

Field photo showing stream conditions at site SBPA-424-R-2000-01 (Opens in a new window)

Located on SOUTH BR PATAPSCO R in the S Branch Patapsco watershed, 8-digit code: 02130908.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/7/2000 and again in the summer on 8/14/2000.

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 33,224 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 2 %
Agricultural Land Use 71.3 %
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 14/20 (Suboptimal)
Epifaunal Substrate 10/20 (Marginal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 7/20 (Marginal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 75 meters 		17/20 (Optimal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 1 meters 		11/20 (Suboptimal)
Shading 70 %
Embeddedness 30 %


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 20.7 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 9.3 mg/L
pH (lab) 7.77
Conductivity 190 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		491.9 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 1.6 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 18 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
White Sucker 56
Blue Ridge Sculpin 52
Cutlip Minnow 47
Northern Hogsucker 45
Rock Bass 31
Redbreast Sunfish 29
Tessellated Darter 29
Bluntnose Minnow 10
Smallmouth Bass 7
Largemouth Bass 5
Common Shiner 3
Green Sunfish 3
American Eel 2
Bluegill 2
River Chub 2
Creek Chub 1
Golden Shiner 1
Rosyface Shiner 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Northern Watersnake
Pickerel Frog

Crayfish:
No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:
Japanese Honeysuckle
Mile-A-Minute
Multiflora Rose
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Tubificidae Aquatic Worm 22
Cricotopus/Orthocladius Midge 17
Centroptilum Small Minnow Mayfly 11
Stilocladius Midge 10
Sympotthastia Non-Biting Midges 10
Clinocera Aquatic Dance Fly 7
Crangonyx Amphipod 6
Orthocladiinae Midge 6
Orthocladiinae A Non-Biting Midges 3
Corynoneura Non-Biting Midges 2
Hydrobaenus Midge 2
Ameletus Combmouthed Minnow Mayfly 2
Stenonema Flatheaded Mayfly 1
Ephemera Mayfly 1
Eurylophella Mayfly 1
Cryptochironomus Non-Biting Midges 1
Microtendipes Non-Biting Midges 1
Paratanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 1
Macronychus Riffle Beetle 1
Isonychia Slate Drake Mayfly 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.