MBSS Site Summary for: YOUG-102-A-2010

Site Photos

Field photo showing stream conditions at site YOUG-102-A-2010-1 (Opens in a new window) Field photo showing stream conditions at site YOUG-102-A-2010-2 (Opens in a new window)

Located on Bear Creek in the Youghiogheny River watershed, 8-digit code: 05020201.
This stream was visited in the spring on 4/21/2010 and again in the summer on 6/22/2010.

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 - 2.3 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 171 acres A highly channelized urban stream with concrete banks. An example of a highly channelized urban stream.
Urban Land Use 12.1 %
Agricultural Land Use 10.5 %
Forested Land Use 73.6 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 10/20 (Marginal)
Epifaunal Substrate 5/20 (Poor)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 8/20 (Marginal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 51 meters 		9/20 (Marginal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 35 meters 		10/20 (Marginal)
Shading 90 %
Embeddedness 65 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 65%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.


Stream Water Quality:
pH (lab) 5.79
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		7.8 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 0.4396 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:
Eastern American Toad
Eastern Red-Backed Salamander
Northern Slimy Salamander

Crayfish:
No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:
No Exotic Plants Observed
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Leuctra  Rolled-Winged Stonefly 43
Paraphaenocladius Non-Biting Midges 22
Isoperla Stripetail Stonefly 11
Amphinemura Spring Stonefly 7
Rheocricotopus Non-Biting Midges 7
Lepidostoma Little Brown Sedge Caddisfly 6
Nemouridae Nemourid Stonefly 4
Ameletus Combmouthed Minnow Mayfly 3
Prosimulium Black Fly 2
Rhyacophila Free-Living Caddisfly 2
Zavrelimyia Non-Biting Midges 2
Micropsectra Non-Biting Midges 2
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 2
Parametriocnemus Non-Biting Midges 1
Perlodidae Perlodid Stonefly 1
Pycnopsyche Great Autumn Brown Sedge Caddisfly 1
Chironomidae Non-Biting Midge 1
Heptageniidae Flathead 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.