MBSS Site Summary for: WA-V-192-115-95


Located on HAMILTON RUN in the Antietam Creek watershed, 8-digit code: 02140502.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/7/1995 and again in the summer on 7/14/1995.

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 - 1.7 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Poor - 1.0 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 1,597 acres A highly channelized urban stream with concrete banks. An example of a highly channelized urban stream.
Urban Land Use 61.9 %
Agricultural Land Use 26.4 %
Forested Land Use 11.2 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 5/20 (Poor)
Epifaunal Substrate 3/20 (Poor)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 6/20 (Marginal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		6/20 (Marginal)
Riffle Quality 11/20 (Suboptimal)
Shading 80 %
Embeddedness 100 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 100%. This is very high, and may adversely affect biotic communities.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 15.5 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 6.7 mg/L
pH (lab) 7.66
Conductivity 600 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		5737 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 2 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
Blacknose Dace 565
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
No amphibians and reptiles noted.

Crayfish:
Cambaridae

Exotic Plants:
No exotic plants noted.
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 48
Thienemannimyia Non-Biting Midges 8
Caecidotea Isopod 7
Parametriocnemus Non-Biting Midges 4
Dicrotendipes Non-Biting Midges 4
Polypedilum Non-Biting Midges 3
Tvetenia Non-Biting Midges 2
Stictochironomus Non-Biting Midge 2
Chironomus Non-Biting Midges 1
Chelifera Aquatic Dance Fly 1
Pisidium Freshwater Pea (Pill) Clam 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.