MBSS Site Summary for: UMON-202-X-2017

Site Photos

Field photo showing stream conditions at site UMON-202-X-2017-MidpointDownstream (Opens in a new window) Field photo showing stream conditions at site UMON-202-X-2017-MidpointUpstream (Opens in a new window)

Located on Little Hunting Creek in the Upper Monocacy River watershed, 8-digit code: 02140303.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/20/2017 and again in the summer on 7/24/2017.

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 - 4.3 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Fair - 3.8 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 4,566 acres A highly channelized urban stream with concrete banks. An example of a highly channelized urban stream.
Urban Land Use 2.9 %
Agricultural Land Use 0.7 %
Forested Land Use 96.3 %


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 18/20 (Optimal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 10/20 (Marginal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 23 meters 		10/20 (Marginal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 75 meters 		19/20 (Optimal)
Shading 80 %
Embeddedness 10 %


Stream Water Quality:
No water quality measurements available for this site.

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 7 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Blue Ridge Sculpin 157
Blacknose Dace 49
Fantail Darter 22
Brown Trout 18
Longnose Dace 17
Green Sunfish 4
Potomac Sculpin 4
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Northern Water Snake

Crayfish:
Cambarus bartonii bartonii

Exotic Plants:
Japanese Barberry
Japanese Stiltgrass
Multiflora Rose
Tree Of Heaven
Wineberry
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
PROSIMULIUM Black Fly 25
EPHEMERELLA Sulphur Mayfly 21
LEPTOPHLEBIIDAE Pronggilled Mayfly 14
BAETIS Blue-Winged Olive Mayfly 5
CHEUMATOPSYCHE Net-Spinning Caddisfly 5
POLYPEDILUM Non-Biting Midges 4
PERLODIDAE Perlodid Stonefly 3
BLEPHARICERA Net-Winged Midges 3
ORTHOCLADIUS Non-Biting Midges 3
EPEORUS Mayfly 3
DIAMESA Bloodworm 2
PARALEPTOPHLEBIA Blue Quill Mayfly 2
DIPLECTRONA Net-Spinning Caddisfly 2
TAENIONEMA 2
AMPHINEMURA Spring Stonefly 2
SWELTSA Stonefly 2
ISOPERLA Stripetail Stonefly 2
POLYCENTROPUS Tube Maker Caddisfly 1
RHEOTANYTARSUS Non-Biting Midges 1
THIENEMANNIMYIA GROUP Non-Biting Midges 1
DOLOPHILODES Medium Evening Sedge Caddisfly 1
ANTOCHA Crane Fly 1
HEPTAGENIIDAE Flathead Mayfly 1
RHYACOPHILA Free-Living Caddisfly 1
MACCAFFERTIUM March Brown And Cahill Mayfly 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.