MBSS Site Summary for: WEST-109-X-2016

Site Photos

Field photo showing stream conditions at site WEST-109-X-2016_midpoint looking downstream (Opens in a new window) Field photo showing stream conditions at site WEST-109-X-2016_midpoint looking upstream (Opens in a new window)

Located on Bluejay Branch in the West River watershed, 8-digit code: 02131004.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/1/2016 and again in the summer on 7/7/2016.

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 N R
Benthic IBI Poor - 2.4 / 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 29.8 %
Forested Land Use 48.8 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 13/20 (Suboptimal)
Epifaunal Substrate 8/20 (Marginal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 4/20 (Poor)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 75 meters 		5/20 (Poor)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 65 meters 		11/20 (Suboptimal)
Shading 50 %
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:
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:
Northern Green Frog
Pickerel Frog
Wood Frog

Crayfish:
No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:
Japanese Honeysuckle
Japanese Stiltgrass
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Prostoia Spring Stonefly 29
Nemouridae Nemourid Stonefly 27
Diplocladius Non-Biting Midges 18
Tubificidae Aquatic Worm 10
Hydrobaenus Midge 9
Stegopterna Black Fly 8
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 8
Rheocricotopus Non-Biting Midges 5
Caecidotea Isopod 5
Mesocricotopus 4
Amphinemura Spring Stonefly 3
Isotomidae Springtail 2
Synurella Amphipod 2
Enchytraeidae Aquatic Worm 1
Ormosia Cranefly 1
Tipulidae Cranefly 1
Pisidium Freshwater Pea (Pill) Clam 1
Tanypodinae Non-Biting Midges 1
Limnephilidae Northern Casemaker Caddisfly 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.