MBSS Site Summary for: WIRH-220-S-2006
Located on Leonard Pond Run in the Wicomico River Head watershed,
8-digit code: 02130304.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/9/2006 and again in the summer on 6/13/2006.
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
|
Good - 4.4 / 5.0
|
Land Use
Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
(Hint: Screen readers will announce definitions; mouse users can hover over dotted text.)
|
|
Catchment area
|
13,718 acres
|
Cows survey the sampling procedure at this extreme example of a highly agriculturalized site.
|
|
Urban Land Use
|
10.1 %
|
|
Agricultural Land Use
|
48.5 %
|
|
Forested Land Use
|
37.8 %
|
An example of woody debris in a stream.
|
Physical Stream Habitat
|
|
Instream Habitat
|
18/20 (Optimal)
|
|
Epifaunal Substrate
|
16/20 (Optimal)
|
|
Velocity/Depth Diversity
|
11/20 (Suboptimal)
|
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 75 meters
|
17/20 (Optimal)
|
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 8 meters
|
12/20 (Suboptimal)
|
|
Shading
|
85 % |
|
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 'Optimal' at this location.
|
Stream Water Quality:
|
| Water temperature |
17.9 ° C
|
| Dissolved oxygen (DO) |
8.6 mg/L
|
| pH (lab) |
6.67 |
| Conductivity |
155 µmho/cm
|
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity)
|
274.7 µeq/L |
| Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) |
2.701 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.
|
 |
| Gray Treefrog |
| Pickerel Frog |
| Southern Leopard Frog |
| Orconectes limosus |
| Procambarus acutus acutus |
|
|
|
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
|
| Genus/Family |
Common Name |
Count |
| Thienemannimyia group |
Non-Biting Midges
|
14 |
| Oecetis |
Long-Horned Caddisfly
|
6 |
| Heptageniidae |
Flathead Mayfly
|
5 |
| Tribelos |
Non-Biting Midges
|
5 |
| Orthocladius |
Non-Biting Midges
|
5 |
| Rheocricotopus |
Non-Biting Midges
|
5 |
| Rheosmittia |
Non-Biting Midges
|
5 |
| Stempellinella |
Non-Biting Midges
|
4 |
| Ablabesmyia |
Non-Biting Midge
|
4 |
| Clinotanypus |
Non-Biting Midge
|
4 |
| Tvetenia |
Non-Biting Midges
|
4 |
| Probezzia |
Biting Midges
|
4 |
| Cheumatopsyche |
Net-Spinning Caddisfly
|
3 |
| Procladius |
Non-Biting Midge
|
3 |
| Macronychus |
Riffle Beetle
|
3 |
| Polypedilum |
Non-Biting Midges
|
3 |
| Leptophlebiidae |
Pronggilled Mayfly
|
3 |
| Thienemanniella |
Non-Biting Midges
|
3 |
| Dubiraphia |
Riffle Beetle
|
2 |
| Paracladopelma |
Non-Biting Midge
|
2 |
| Ancyronyx |
Spider Riffle Beetle
|
2 |
| Caecidotea |
Isopod
|
2 |
| Eurylophella |
Mayfly
|
2 |
| Calopteryx |
Damselfly
|
2 |
| Gammarus |
Amphipod
|
2 |
| Sialis |
Alderfly
|
1 |
| Musculium |
Fingernail Clam
|
1 |
| Brachycentrus |
Humpless Casemaker Caddisfly
|
1 |
| Triaenodes |
Long-Horned Caddisfly
|
1 |
| Lype |
Net Tube Caddisfly
|
1 |
| Apsectrotanypus |
Non-Biting Midges
|
1 |
| Corynoneura |
Non-Biting Midges
|
1 |
| Labrundinia |
Non-Biting Midges
|
1 |
| Natarsia |
Non-Biting Midges
|
1 |
| Isoperla |
Stripetail Stonefly
|
1 |
| Polycentropus |
Tube Maker Caddisfly
|
1 |
| Pisidiidae |
Pill Clam
|
1 |
| Tanytarsus |
Non-Biting Midges
|
1 |
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.
