MBSS Site Summary for: WI-S-073-114-95


Located on OWENS BR in the Lower Wicomico River watershed, 8-digit code: 02130301.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/2/1995 and again in the summer on 6/12/1995.

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 Good - 4.0 / 5.0
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 1,055 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 8.6 %
Agricultural Land Use 55.5 %
Forested Land Use 35.7 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 3/20 (Poor)
Epifaunal Substrate 1/20 (Poor)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 2/20 (Poor)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		1/20 (Poor)
Riffle Quality 4/20 (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:
Water temperature 20.1 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 6.3 mg/L
pH (lab) 6.72
Conductivity 130 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		409.1 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 4 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 6 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Eastern Mudminnow 107
Creek Chubsucker 12
Least Brook Lamprey 12
Tessellated Darter 9
Golden Shiner 5
Pirate Perch 5
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Eastern Painted 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
Tanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 68
Crangonyx Amphipod 15
Gammarus Amphipod 11
Cricotopus/Orthocladius Midge 8
Triaenodes Long-Horned Caddisfly 7
Trissopelopia Non-Biting Midges 7
Zavrelimyia Non-Biting Midges 7
Procladius Non-Biting Midge 4
Physa Air-Breathing Freshwater Snail 3
Caecidotea Isopod 2
Heteroplectron Caddisfly 2
Corynoneura Non-Biting Midges 2
Microtendipes Non-Biting Midges 2
Thienemanniella Non-Biting Midges 1
Labrundinia Non-Biting Midges 1
Hexatoma Crane Fly 1
Pseudolimnophila Crane Fly 1
Dicranota Hairy-Eyed Cranefly 1
Hirudinea Leech 1
Glyptotendipes 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.