MBSS Site Summary for: WO-S-003-320-97


Located on POCOMOKE R in the Upper Pocomoke River watershed, 8-digit code: 02130203.
This stream was visited in the spring on 4/7/1997 and again in the summer on 7/16/1997.

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 - 2.7 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 34,177 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 0.2 %
Agricultural Land Use 51 %
Forested Land Use 47.6 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 12/20 (Suboptimal)
Epifaunal Substrate 11/20 (Suboptimal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 5/20 (Poor)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = meters 		9/20 (Marginal)
Riffle Quality 11/20 (Suboptimal)
Shading 70 %
Embeddedness 100 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 100%. This is very high, and may adversely affect biotic communities.


Stream Water Quality:
Water temperature 26.5 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 5.5 mg/L
pH (lab) 6.29
Conductivity 100 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		186.1 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 13.3 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 15 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
American Eel 85
Tessellated Darter 46
Pirate Perch 22
Redbreast Sunfish 10
Creek Chubsucker 9
Satinfin Shiner 9
Yellow Bullhead 8
Margined Madtom 7
Redfin Pickerel 7
Eastern Mudminnow 5
Least Brook Lamprey 5
Tadpole Madtom 5
Golden Shiner 1
Pumpkinseed 1
Swallowtail Shiner 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
American Bullfrog
Northern Green Frog
Southern Leopard Frog

Crayfish:
No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:
No exotic plants noted.
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Simulium Black Fly 55
Tanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 5
Stenonema Flatheaded Mayfly 4
Conchapelopia Non-Biting Midges 4
Rheocricotopus Non-Biting Midges 3
Hyalella Amphipod 3
Lype Net Tube Caddisfly 2
Dicrotendipes Non-Biting Midges 1
Gammarus Amphipod 1
Pycnopsyche Great Autumn Brown Sedge Caddisfly 1
Dineutus Whirlygig Beetle 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.