MBSS Site Summary for: STMA-306-A-2010

Site Photos

Field photo showing stream conditions at site STMA-306-A-2010-1 (Opens in a new window) Field photo showing stream conditions at site STMA-306-A-2010-2 (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 4/10/2010 and again in the summer on 7/13/2010.

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 - 3.7 / 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 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 13/20 (Suboptimal)
Epifaunal Substrate 10/20 (Marginal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 13/20 (Suboptimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 69 meters 		14/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 7 meters 		11/20 (Suboptimal)
Shading 95 %
Embeddedness 75 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 75%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.


Stream Water Quality:
pH (lab) 6.78
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		253.8 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 9.1919 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 41
Redbreast Sunfish 23
Swallowtail Shiner 23
Tessellated Darter 20
Least Brook Lamprey 9
Margined Madtom 7
Pumpkinseed 7
Eastern Mudminnow 5
Sea Lamprey 2
Blacknose Dace 1
Bluegill 1
Largemouth Bass 1
Tadpole Madtom 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Cope's Gray Treefrog
Eastern Ratsnake
Northern Green Frog
Pickerel Frog

Crayfish:
Orconectes limosus

Exotic Plants:
Japanese Stiltgrass
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Plauditus Tiny Blue-Winged Olive Mayflies 38
Caecidotea Isopod 9
Simulium Black Fly 7
Cladotanytarsus Non-Biting Midge 7
Tanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 7
Polypedilum Non-Biting Midges 6
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 6
Maccaffertium March Brown And Cahill Mayfly 4
Haploperla Green Stonefly 3
Ormosia Cranefly 2
Nilotanypus 2
Corynoneura Non-Biting Midges 2
Cricotopus Non-Biting Midges 1
Parametriocnemus Non-Biting Midges 1
Thienemanniella Non-Biting Midges 1
Leptophlebiidae Pronggilled Mayfly 1
Macronychus Riffle Beetle 1
Acerpenna Tiny Blue-Winged Olive Mayflies 1
Nyctiophylax 1
Pedicia 1
Stilobezzia 1
Ceratopogon Biting Midge 1
Calopteryx Damselfly 1
Stenochironomus European Non-Biting Midge 1
Perlidae Common Stonefly 1
Neoplasta 1
Triaenodes Long-Horned Caddisfly 1
Orthocladiinae Midge 1
Chironomini Non-Biting 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.