MBSS Site Summary for: UMON-389-A-2007

Site Photos

Field photo showing stream conditions at site UMON-389-A-2007-1 (Opens in a new window) Field photo showing stream conditions at site UMON-389-A-2007-2 (Opens in a new window)

Located on Hunting Creek in the Upper Monocacy River watershed, 8-digit code: 02140303.
This stream was visited in the spring on 4/18/2007 and again in the summer on 7/24/2007.

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 - 4.7 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Poor - 2.8 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 7,501 acres A highly channelized urban stream with concrete banks. An example of a highly channelized urban stream.
Urban Land Use 23.9 %
Agricultural Land Use 11.5 %
Forested Land Use 62.1 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 16/20 (Optimal)
Epifaunal Substrate 15/20 (Suboptimal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 12/20 (Suboptimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 60 meters 		13/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 22 meters 		16/20 (Optimal)
Shading 90 %
Embeddedness 35 %


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 20.3 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 9.3 mg/L
pH (lab) 7.86
Conductivity 531 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		540.5 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 1.8447 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 21 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Blacknose Dace 550
Blue Ridge Sculpin 515
Central Stoneroller 189
Potomac Sculpin 138
Longnose Dace 127
Bluntnose Minnow 88
Fallfish 72
Creek Chub 42
White Sucker 26
Fantail Darter 19
Green Sunfish 17
Greenside Darter 15
Pumpkinseed 13
Redbreast Sunfish 13
Common Shiner 11
Spotfin Shiner 6
Bluegill 4
Largemouth Bass 3
Brown Trout 2
Rock Bass 2
Smallmouth Bass 2
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Eastern Gartersnake
Eastern Painted Turtle
Pickerel Frog

Crayfish:
Orconectes
Orconectes virilis

Exotic Plants:
Garlic Mustard
Japanese Honeysuckle
Japanese Stiltgrass
Multiflora Rose
Wineberry
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 11
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 10
Eurylophella Mayfly 7
Diamesinae Non-Biting Midges 7
Amphinemura Spring Stonefly 6
Antocha Crane Fly 6
Naididae Aquatic Worm 6
Diamesa Bloodworm 5
Crangonyx Amphipod 5
Clinocera Aquatic Dance Fly 5
Empididae Dance Fly 5
Hydropsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 5
Ephemerella Sulphur Mayfly 5
Rheocricotopus Non-Biting Midges 4
Tanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 2
Ephemerellidae Spiny Crawler Mayfly 2
Prosimulium Black Fly 2
Gomphidae Clubtail Dragonfly 1
Perlidae Common Stonefly 1
Stagnicola Air Breathing Freshwater Snail 1
Hyalella Amphipod 1
Brillia Non-Biting Midges 1
Chaetocladius Non-Biting Midges 1
Cricotopus Non-Biting Midges 1
Chimarra Fingernet Caddisfly 1
Prostoma Freshwater Nemertean (Ribbon Worm) 1
Glossosoma Little Black Caddisfly 1
Psephenus Water Penny 1
Thienemannimyia group Non-Biting Midges 1
Stempellinella Non-Biting Midges 1
Hydrobaenus Midge 1
Paratanytarsus 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.