MBSS Site Summary for: WEST-109-X-2014


Located on BLUEJAY BRANCH in the West River watershed, 8-digit code: 02131004.
This stream was visited in the spring on 4/2/2014 and again in the summer on 6/30/2014.

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 Poor - 2.7 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 406 acres A stream flowing through a densely forested area. An example of a forested stream.
Urban Land Use 13.5 %
Agricultural Land Use 29.3 %
Forested Land Use 53.4 %


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 5/20 (Poor)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 2/20 (Poor)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 75 meters 		5/20 (Poor)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 0 meters 		0/20 (Poor)
Shading 75 %
Embeddedness 100 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 100%. This is very high, and may adversely affect biotic communities.
Several measures of instream habitat were considered 'Poor' at this location.


Stream Water Quality:
No water quality measurements available for this site.

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:
Fish data is unavailable or no fish observed.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Cope's Gray Treefrog
Eastern American Toad
Northern Green Frog
Pickerel Frog
Southern Leopard Frog

Crayfish:
Cambarus diogenes

Exotic Plants:
Garlic Mustard
Japanese Honeysuckle
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 47
Rheocricotopus Non-Biting Midges 25
Hydrobaenus Midge 20
Nemouridae Nemourid Stonefly 7
Synurella Amphipod 4
Caecidotea Isopod 3
Diplocladius Non-Biting Midges 2
Nematoda Nematode 1
Stegopterna Black Fly 1
Ptilostomis Giant Casemaker Caddisfly 1
Georthocladius 1
Mesocricotopus 1
Limnephilidae Northern Casemaker Caddisfly 1
Amphinemura Spring Stonefly 1
Isoperla Stripetail 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.