MBSS Site Summary for: SM-S-166-143-97


Located on COLES CR UT1 in the Patuxent River lower watershed, 8-digit code: 02131101.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/18/1997 and again in the summer on 6/4/1997.

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 Poor - 2.3 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Fair - 3.3 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 92 acres A stream flowing through a densely forested area. An example of a forested stream.
Urban Land Use 10 %
Agricultural Land Use 28.6 %
Forested Land Use 61.7 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 4/20 (Poor)
Epifaunal Substrate 12/20 (Suboptimal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 7/20 (Marginal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		6/20 (Marginal)
Riffle Quality 11/20 (Suboptimal)
Shading 65 %
Embeddedness 54 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 54%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 15.4 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 9.2 mg/L
pH (lab) 7.85
Conductivity 332 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		2457 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 2 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 3 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Eastern Mudminnow 30
Blacknose Dace 27
American Eel 3
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Eastern Snapping Turtle
Northern Two-Lined Salamander
Pickerel Frog

Crayfish:
No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:
No exotic plants noted.
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Gammarus Amphipod 71
Polypedilum Non-Biting Midges 12
Stenonema Flatheaded Mayfly 6
Conchapelopia Non-Biting Midges 5
Tanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 4
Tvetenia Non-Biting Midges 4
Parametriocnemus Non-Biting Midges 2
Tipula Crane Fly 2
Dixa 1
Corynoneura Non-Biting Midges 1
Probezzia Biting Midges 1
Neophylax Caddisfly 1
Hexatoma Crane Fly 1
Pseudolimnophila Crane Fly 1
Boyeria Spotted Darner Dragonfly 1
Amphinemura 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.