MBSS Site Summary for: SWAN-201-X-2006


Located on Gasheys Creek in the Swan Creek watershed, 8-digit code: 02130706.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/30/2006 and again in the summer on 7/12/2006.

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 Poor - 1.6 / 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 2,615 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 12 %
Agricultural Land Use 47 %
Forested Land Use 40 %


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 6/20 (Marginal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 12/20 (Suboptimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 70 meters 		14/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 45 meters 		7/20 (Marginal)
Shading 76 %
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:
Water temperature 23.2 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 7.9 mg/L
pH (lab) 7.53
Conductivity 166 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		606.7 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 1.7269 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 17 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Green Sunfish 119
Swallowtail Shiner 67
Creek Chub 46
Blacknose Dace 32
White Sucker 32
Pumpkinseed 29
American Eel 21
Bluegill 14
Tessellated Darter 13
Eastern Mudminnow 10
Creek Chubsucker 7
Banded Killifish 6
Largemouth Bass 5
Brown Bullhead 3
Redbreast Sunfish 2
Eastern Silvery Minnow 1
Satinfin Shiner 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Northern Green Frog
Northern Two-Lined Salamander
Pickerel Frog

Crayfish:
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 65
Hydrobaenus Midge 29
Orthocladiinae Midge 8
Cricotopus Non-Biting Midges 4
Tanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 4
Clinocera Aquatic Dance Fly 3
Prosimulium Black Fly 3
Thienemannimyia group Non-Biting Midges 2
Hydropsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 1
Eukiefferiella Non-Biting Midges 1
Tanytarsini Non-Biting Midges 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.