MBSS Site Summary for: WI-S-016-211-95


Located on SOUTH PRONG WICOMICO R in the Lower Wicomico River watershed, 8-digit code: 02130301.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/6/1995 and again in the summer on 6/27/1995.

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 Fair - 3.7 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Fair - 3.9 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 13,551 acres Cows standing in a stream at a site with high agricultural land use. Cows survey the sampling procedure at this extreme example of a highly agriculturalized site.
Urban Land Use 9.1 %
Agricultural Land Use 44 %
Forested Land Use 42.8 %


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 		13/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality 0/20 (Poor)
Shading 10 %
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:
Water temperature 24 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 6.4 mg/L
pH (lab) 6.44
Conductivity 100 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		262.3 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 5 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 8 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
American Eel 60
Bluegill 18
Creek Chubsucker 8
Pumpkinseed 8
Largemouth Bass 5
Least Brook Lamprey 2
Chain Pickerel 1
Tessellated Darter 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Northern Red-Bellied Turtle

Crayfish:
No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:
No exotic plants noted.
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Enallagma Narrow-Winged Damselfly 16
Potthastia Non-Biting Midges 10
Rheotanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 10
Pisidium Freshwater Pea (Pill) Clam 8
Cricotopus/Orthocladius Midge 7
Dicrotendipes Non-Biting Midges 5
Procladius Non-Biting Midge 4
Sphaerium Fingernail Clam 3
Palaemonetes 2
Physa Air-Breathing Freshwater Snail 1
Gammarus Amphipod 1
Stenonema Flatheaded Mayfly 1
Caenis Mayfly 1
Ablabesmyia Non-Biting Midge 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.