MBSS Site Summary for: STMA-306-A-2009

Site Photos

Field photo showing stream conditions at site STMA-306-A-2009-1 (Opens in a new window) Field photo showing stream conditions at site STMA-306-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 7/7/2009.

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 Good - 4.0 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Good - 5.0 / 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 5,579 acres A highly channelized urban stream with concrete banks. An example of a highly channelized urban stream.
Urban Land Use 23.3 %
Agricultural Land Use 18.7 %
Forested Land Use 55.5 %


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 7/20 (Marginal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 12/20 (Suboptimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 73 meters 		11/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 18 meters 		11/20 (Suboptimal)
Shading 90 %
Embeddedness 70 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 70%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 20.1 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 7.2 mg/L
pH (lab) 6.73
Conductivity 65 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		183.2 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 5.0508 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 13 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
American Eel 43
Tessellated Darter 18
Redbreast Sunfish 14
Least Brook Lamprey 12
Margined Madtom 10
Spottail Shiner 10
Sea Lamprey 8
Swallowtail Shiner 4
Pumpkinseed 3
Eastern Mudminnow 2
Largemouth Bass 2
Bluegill 1
Tadpole Madtom 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
American Bullfrog
Eastern Painted Turtle
Northern Green Frog
Northern Spring Peeper
Southern Leopard Frog

Crayfish:
Orconectes limosus

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

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Dubiraphia Riffle Beetle 23
Acerpenna Tiny Blue-Winged Olive Mayflies 15
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 11
Isoperla Stripetail Stonefly 5
Thienemannimyia Group Non-Biting Midges 4
Leptophlebiidae Pronggilled Mayfly 4
Maccaffertium March Brown And Cahill Mayfly 4
Paraleptophlebia Blue Quill Mayfly 4
Hexatoma Crane Fly 3
Chloroperlidae Green Stonefly 3
Paraphaenocladius Non-Biting Midges 3
Stenelmis Beetle 3
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 3
Macronychus Riffle Beetle 3
Oulimnius Riffle Beetle 2
Tanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 2
Rheocricotopus Non-Biting Midges 2
Triaenodes Long-Horned Caddisfly 2
Leptoceridae Longhorned Casemaker Caddisfly 2
Gomphus Clubtail Dragonfly 1
Perlidae Common Stonefly 1
Menetus Air Breathing Freshwater Snail 1
Physa Air-Breathing Freshwater Snail 1
Stempellinella Non-Biting Midges 1
Oxyethira Microcaddisfly 1
Coenagrionidae Narrowwinged Damselfly 1
Argia Narrow-Winged Damselfly 1
Ceraclea Scaly-Winged Sedge Caddisfly 1
Ancyronyx Spider Riffle Beetle 1
Boyeria Spotted Darner Dragonfly 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.