MBSS Site Summary for: YOUG-110-R-2015


Located on SOUTH BRANCH BEAR CREEK in the Youghiogheny River watershed, 8-digit code: 05020201.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/19/2015 and again in the summer on 6/5/2015.

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 - 1.5 / 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 711 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 14.5 %
Agricultural Land Use 48.6 %
Forested Land Use 34.9 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 8/20 (Marginal)
Epifaunal Substrate 9/20 (Marginal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 11/20 (Suboptimal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 59 meters 		11/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 16 meters 		9/20 (Marginal)
Shading 90 %
Embeddedness 70 %
The embeddedness, a measure of silt on the stream bottom, was 70%. This is relatively high, and may exclude some biota.


Stream Water Quality:
pH (lab) 7.4
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		546.6 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 1.5008 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 3 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Blacknose Dace 235
Creek Chub 76
White Sucker 13
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
No amphibians and reptiles noted.

Crayfish:
No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:
Bull Thistle
Canada Thistle
Japanese Knotweed
Shrub Honeysuckle
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Micropsectra Non-Biting Midges 24
Hyalella Amphipod 21
Heterotrissocladius European Non-Biting Midge 15
Caecidotea Isopod 7
Thienemannimyia Group Non-Biting Midges 7
Pisidiidae Pill Clam 6
Musculium Fingernail Clam 6
Parametriocnemus Non-Biting Midges 5
Rheotanytarsus Non-Biting Midges 3
Lumbriculidae Worm 3
Tubificidae Aquatic Worm 3
Ceratopogon Biting Midge 2
Pseudolimnophila Crane Fly 2
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 2
Physa Air-Breathing Freshwater Snail 2
Stratiomyidae Soldier Fly 1
Tvetenia Non-Biting Midges 1
Orthocladiinae Midge 1
Diplectrona Net-Spinning Caddisfly 1
Chaetocladius Non-Biting Midges 1
Diplocladius Non-Biting Midges 1
Tipula Crane Fly 1
Erioptera Cranefly 1
Calopteryx Damselfly 1
Neophylax 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.