MBSS Site Summary for: WILL-110-R-2009

Site Photos

Field photo showing stream conditions at site WILL-110-R-2009-1 (Opens in a new window) Field photo showing stream conditions at site WILL-110-R-2009-2 (Opens in a new window)

Located on UT Jennings Run in the Wills Creek watershed, 8-digit code: 02141003.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/13/2009 and again in the summer on 6/3/2009.

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 - 2.0 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 254 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 5.9 %
Agricultural Land Use 56.7 %
Forested Land Use 37 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 6/20 (Marginal)
Epifaunal Substrate 3/20 (Poor)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 8/20 (Marginal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 48 meters 		7/20 (Marginal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 33 meters 		9/20 (Marginal)
Shading 75 %
Embeddedness 99 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 99%. This is very high, and may adversely affect biotic communities.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 14.4 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 9.1 mg/L
pH (lab) 6.61
Conductivity 538 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		176.7 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 0.7113 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 1 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
No Fish Observed 0
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
No amphibians and reptiles noted.

Crayfish:
No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:
Garlic Mustard
Multiflora Rose
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Pseudolimnophila Crane Fly 19
Georthocladius 8
Diplectrona Net-Spinning Caddisfly 6
Chaetocladius Non-Biting Midges 5
Dicranota Hairy-Eyed Cranefly 5
Tipula Crane Fly 4
Ormosia Cranefly 3
Heterotrissocladius European Non-Biting Midge 3
Micropsectra Non-Biting Midges 3
Parametriocnemus Non-Biting Midges 3
Zavrelimyia Non-Biting Midges 3
Amphinemura Spring Stonefly 2
Polypedilum Non-Biting Midges 2
Pseudorthocladius Non-Biting Midges 2
Ptilostomis Giant Casemaker Caddisfly 2
Leuctra  Rolled-Winged Stonefly 2
Ceratopogon Biting Midge 2
Prosimulium Black Fly 2
Hexatoma Crane Fly 2
Parachaetocladius Non-Biting Midge 2
Corynoneura Non-Biting Midges 1
Diplocladius Non-Biting Midges 1
Nemouridae Nemourid Stonefly 1
Molophilus 1
Pycnopsyche Great Autumn Brown Sedge Caddisfly 1
Thienemannimyia Group Non-Biting Midges 1
Acerpenna Tiny Blue-Winged Olive Mayflies 1
Limnephilidae Northern Casemaker Caddisfly 1
Leptophlebiidae Pronggilled Mayfly 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.