MBSS Site Summary for: WA-B-018-241-96


Located on ISRAEL CR in the Potomac River FR Cnty watershed, 8-digit code: 02140301.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/11/1996 and again in the summer on 8/23/1996.

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 - 3.3 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Poor - 2.0 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 6,260 acres A stream flowing through a densely forested area. An example of a forested stream.
Urban Land Use 0.3 %
Agricultural Land Use 36.6 %
Forested Land Use 62.7 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 12/20 (Suboptimal)
Epifaunal Substrate 11/20 (Suboptimal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 13/20 (Suboptimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		20/20 (Optimal)
Riffle Quality 13/20 (Suboptimal)
Shading 75 %
Embeddedness 65 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 65%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 21 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 9.5 mg/L
pH (lab) 7.45
Conductivity 142 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		506 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 1.7 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 16 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Blacknose Dace 462
Bluntnose Minnow 109
White Sucker 73
Fantail Darter 60
Creek Chub 50
Longnose Dace 30
Greenside Darter 22
Tessellated Darter 22
Rosyside Dace 21
Northern Hogsucker 7
Spotfin Shiner 4
Central Stoneroller 2
American Eel 1
Largemouth Bass 1
Redbreast Sunfish 1
River Chub 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
American Bullfrog
Northern Watersnake

Crayfish:
No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:
No exotic plants noted.
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Prosimulium Black Fly 85
Ephemerella Sulphur Mayfly 7
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 3
Optioservus Riffle Beetle 3
Chimarra Fingernet Caddisfly 2
Acroneuria Golden Stoneflies 1
Cricotopus/Orthocladius Midge 1
Tipula Crane Fly 1
Isonychia Slate Drake Mayfly 1
Prostoia Spring Stonefly 1
Micropsectra 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.