MBSS Site Summary for: WILL-212-R-2004


Located on BRADDOCK RUN in the Wills Creek watershed, 8-digit code: 02141003.
This stream was visited in the spring on 4/7/2004 and again in the summer on 8/4/2004.

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 - 3.5 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Poor - 1.5 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 7,782 acres A highly channelized urban stream with concrete banks. An example of a highly channelized urban stream.
Urban Land Use 19 %
Agricultural Land Use 9 %
Forested Land Use 71 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 18/20 (Optimal)
Epifaunal Substrate 8/20 (Marginal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 16/20 (Optimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 45 meters 		14/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 75 meters 		19/20 (Optimal)
Shading 75 %
Embeddedness 60 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 60%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.
Several measures of instream habitat were considered 'Optimal' at this location.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 16.8 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 8.5 mg/L
pH (lab) 8.26
Conductivity 1011 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		1463 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 0.4 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 2 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Blacknose Dace 14
Longnose Dace 10
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Northern Watersnake

Crayfish:
No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:
Japanese Honeysuckle
Multiflora Rose
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Diamesa Bloodworm 55
Crangonyx Amphipod 18
Cloeon 5
Prodiamesa 4
Caecidotea Isopod 4
Leuctridae Rolledwinged Stonefly 4
Lumbriculidae Worm 3
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 3
Parametriocnemus Non-Biting Midges 2
Hydropsyche Net-Spinning Caddisfly 2
Diamesinae Non-Biting Midges 1
Orthocladiinae Midge 1
Sialis Alderfly 1
Enchytraeidae Aquatic Worm 1
Rheocricotopus Non-Biting Midges 1
Thienemannimyia group Non-Biting Midges 1
Ironoquia Northern 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.