MBSS Site Summary for: STMA-232-A-2009

Site Photos

Field photo showing stream conditions at site STMA-232-A-2009-1 (Opens in a new window) Field photo showing stream conditions at site STMA-232-A-2009-2 (Opens in a new window)

Located on St. Mary's River in the St. Mary's River watershed, 8-digit code: 02140103.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/11/2009 and again in the summer on 7/6/2009.

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 Fair - 3.3 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Good - 4.7 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 2,758 acres A highly channelized urban stream with concrete banks. An example of a highly channelized urban stream.
Urban Land Use 23.4 %
Agricultural Land Use 18.6 %
Forested Land Use 55.9 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 15/20 (Suboptimal)
Epifaunal Substrate 10/20 (Marginal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 12/20 (Suboptimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 75 meters 		14/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 30 meters 		11/20 (Suboptimal)
Shading 60 %
Embeddedness 55 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 55%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 23.9 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 6.4 mg/L
pH (lab) 6.64
Conductivity 71 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		132.5 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 5.41 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 11 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Redbreast Sunfish 28
American Eel 17
Eastern Mudminnow 16
Bluegill 10
Tadpole Madtom 6
Margined Madtom 5
Chain Pickerel 3
Least Brook Lamprey 2
Tessellated Darter 2
Eastern Mosquitofish 1
Golden Shiner 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Broad-Headed Skink
Eastern Box Turtle
Eastern Cricket Frog
Gray Treefrog
Northern Green Frog
Northern Spring Peeper
Southern Leopard Frog

Crayfish:
Cambarus diogenes
Orconectes limosus

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

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 18
Stenelmis Beetle 14
Thienemannimyia Group Non-Biting Midges 13
Acerpenna Tiny Blue-Winged Olive Mayflies 13
Rheotanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 8
Tanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 6
Rheocricotopus Non-Biting Midges 3
Simulium Black Fly 3
Maccaffertium March Brown And Cahill Mayfly 3
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 2
Paraphaenocladius Non-Biting Midges 2
Gomphidae Clubtail Dragonfly 2
Oecetis Long-Horned Caddisfly 2
Physa Air-Breathing Freshwater Snail 2
Leptophlebia Pronggilled Mayfly 2
Macronychus Riffle Beetle 1
Oulimnius Riffle Beetle 1
Isoperla Stripetail Stonefly 1
Stempellinella Non-Biting Midges 1
Lumbriculidae Worm 1
Crangonyx Amphipod 1
Campeloma 1
Macromia 1
Stegopterna Black Fly 1
Parametriocnemus Non-Biting Midges 1
Eurylophella Mayfly 1
Oxyethira Microcaddisfly 1
Orthocladiinae Midge 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.