MBSS Site Summary for: UMON-230-A-2009

Site Photos

Located on Hunting Creek in the Upper Monocacy River watershed, 8-digit code: 02140303.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/16/2009 and again in the summer on 7/23/2009.

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 - 3.7 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Fair - 3.5 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 6,536 acres A highly channelized urban stream with concrete banks. An example of a highly channelized urban stream.
Urban Land Use 8.8 %
Agricultural Land Use 1.4 %
Forested Land Use 89.8 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 17/20 (Optimal)
Epifaunal Substrate 18/20 (Optimal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 16/20 (Optimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 55 meters 		14/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 55 meters 		16/20 (Optimal)
Shading 70 %
Embeddedness 15 %
Several measures of instream habitat were considered 'Optimal' at this location.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 19.1 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 7.9 mg/L
pH (lab) 7.42
Conductivity 122 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		429.8 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 1.3326 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 15 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Blacknose Dace 270
Blue Ridge Sculpin 148
Longnose Dace 41
Rosyside Dace 33
Fantail Darter 17
Brown Trout 15
Potomac Sculpin 14
Fallfish 13
Cutlip Minnow 10
Central Stoneroller 3
Northern Hogsucker 3
Redbreast Sunfish 3
Smallmouth Bass 2
White Sucker 2
Bluntnose Minnow 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Northern Two-Lined Salamander
Northern Watersnake

Crayfish:
Cambarus bartonii bartonii
Orconectes virilis

Exotic Plants:
Japanese Honeysuckle
Japanese Stiltgrass
Multiflora Rose
Shrub Honeysuckle
Wineberry
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Clinocera Aquatic Dance Fly 12
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 11
Sympotthastia Non-Biting Midges 11
Eurylophella Mayfly 10
Antocha Crane Fly 7
Maccaffertium March Brown And Cahill Mayfly 7
Isonychia Slate Drake Mayfly 7
Sweltsa Stonefly 6
Ephemerella Sulphur Mayfly 5
Orthocladiinae Midge 4
Tanypodinae Non-Biting Midges 4
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 3
Parametriocnemus Non-Biting Midges 3
LEPTOPHLEBIIDAE Pronggilled Mayfly 2
Sublettea 2
NAIDIDAE Aquatic Worm 2
Prosimulium Black Fly 2
Diamesa Bloodworm 1
Hexatoma Crane Fly 1
Chimarra Fingernet Caddisfly 1
Potthastia Non-Biting Midges 1
Diplectrona Net-Spinning Caddisfly 1
Hydropsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 1
Hemerodromia Tiny Fly 1
Ferrissia Small Air-Breathing Freshwater Limpets 1
Prostoia Spring Stonefly 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.