MBSS Site Summary for: WA-V-105-215-95


Located on LITTLE BEAVER CR in the Antietam Creek watershed, 8-digit code: 02140502.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/6/1995 and again in the summer on 6/7/1995.

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 Poor - 1.0 / 5.0
Benthic IBI N R

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 4,671 acres A stream flowing through a densely forested area. An example of a forested stream.
Urban Land Use 2.3 %
Agricultural Land Use 38.6 %
Forested Land Use 58.3 %


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 5/20 (Poor)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 16/20 (Optimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		17/20 (Optimal)
Riffle Quality 16/20 (Optimal)
Shading 15 %
Embeddedness 60 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 60%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.
Several measures of instream habitat were considered 'Optimal' at this location.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 22.5 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 10.2 mg/L
pH (lab) 8.22
Conductivity 300 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		2967 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 3 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 1 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
No Fish Observed 0
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Queen Snake

Crayfish:
No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:
No exotic plants noted.
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Benthic data unavailable.
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.