MBSS Site Summary for: WICO-104-R-2004

Site Photos

Field photo showing stream conditions at site WICO-104-R-2004-1 (Opens in a new window) Field photo showing stream conditions at site WICO-104-R-2004-2 (Opens in a new window)

Located on CHAPTICO CR in the Wicomico River watershed, 8-digit code: 02140106.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/15/2004 and again in the summer on 7/6/2004.

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 - 3.3 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Good - 4.4 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 788 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 16 %
Agricultural Land Use 48 %
Forested Land Use 36 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 7/20 (Marginal)
Epifaunal Substrate 8/20 (Marginal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 8/20 (Marginal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 36 meters 		8/20 (Marginal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 46 meters 		13/20 (Suboptimal)
Shading 50 %
Embeddedness 60 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 60%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 23.1 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 7.1 mg/L
pH (lab) 7.12
Conductivity 131 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		382.7 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 3.6 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
Bluegill 9
Eastern Mudminnow 9
Blacknose Dace 8
Least Brook Lamprey 6
Tessellated Darter 6
Fallfish 3
Largemouth Bass 2
Margined Madtom 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Northern Green Frog
Northern Two-Lined Salamander

Crayfish:
No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:
Japanese Honeysuckle
Japanese Stiltgrass
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Cheumatopsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 14
Rheosmittia Non-Biting Midges 12
Thienemannimyia group Non-Biting Midges 8
Gammarus Amphipod 8
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 6
Ephemerella Sulphur Mayfly 5
Capniidae Small Winter Stonefly 4
Parametriocnemus Non-Biting Midges 4
Polypedilum Non-Biting Midges 4
Stenelmis Beetle 4
Hexatoma Crane Fly 2
Microtendipes Non-Biting Midges 2
Hydropsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 2
Pycnopsyche Great Autumn Brown Sedge Caddisfly 2
Chloroperlidae Green Stonefly 2
Hydrobaenus Midge 2
Isoperla Stripetail Stonefly 2
Pisidiidae Pill Clam 2
Acerpenna Tiny Blue-Winged Olive Mayflies 2
Tropisternus Water Scavenger Beetle 2
Dineutus Whirlygig Beetle 2
Lumbriculidae Worm 1
Hemerodromia Tiny Fly 1
Crangonyx Amphipod 1
Leptophlebiidae Pronggilled Mayfly 1
Limnephilidae Northern Casemaker Caddisfly 1
Perlodidae Perlodid Stonefly 1
Tanypodinae Non-Biting Midges 1
Thienemanniella Non-Biting Midges 1
Eukiefferiella Non-Biting Midges 1
Nanocladius Non-Biting Midges 1
Tipula Crane Fly 1
Naididae Aquatic Worm 1
Helichus Beetle 1
Stegopterna Black Fly 1
Heteroplectron Caddisfly 1
Stylogomphus Clubtail Dragonfly 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.