MBSS Site Summary for: ZEKI-107-R-2009

Site Photos

Field photo showing stream conditions at site ZEKI-107-R-2009-1 (Opens in a new window) Field photo showing stream conditions at site ZEKI-107-R-2009-2 (Opens in a new window)

Located on Wolf Den Creek in the Zekiah Swamp watershed, 8-digit code: 02140108.
This stream was visited in the spring on 3/10/2009 and again in the summer on 7/20/2009.

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 - 4.7 / 5.0
Benthic IBI Fair - 3.6 / 5.0

Land Use

Land use can provide important information for determining stream health.
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Catchment area 793 acres A stream flowing through a densely forested area. An example of a forested stream.
Urban Land Use 3.5 %
Agricultural Land Use 13.2 %
Forested Land Use 78.7 %


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

Physical Stream Habitat
Instream Habitat 16/20 (Optimal)
Epifaunal Substrate 9/20 (Marginal)
Velocity/Depth Diversity 10/20 (Marginal)
Pool Quality
Pool Extent = 74 meters 		15/20 (Suboptimal)
Riffle Quality
Riffle Extent = 5 meters 		6/20 (Marginal)
Shading 25 %
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:
Water temperature 20.1 ° C
Dissolved oxygen (DO) 6.8 mg/L
pH (lab) 5.55
Conductivity 63 µmho/cm
Alkalinity
(acid neutralizing capacity) 		23.3 µeq/L
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 4.476 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 10 fish species were collected.
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Common name Count
Creek Chubsucker 27
Rosyside Dace 15
Eastern Mudminnow 12
Fallfish 9
American Eel 3
Bluegill 3
Redfin Pickerel 2
Pumpkinseed 1
Tadpole Madtom 1
Tessellated Darter 1
Biologists sampling fish communities.
Electrofishing to sample fish communities.

Amphibians and Reptiles:
Common Five-Lined Skink
Eastern American Toad
Fowler's Toad
Northern Green Frog
Southern Leopard Frog

Crayfish:
No crayfish noted.

Exotic Plants:
Japanese Stiltgrass
 

Benthic Macroinvertebrates:
Sensitive taxa: Green, Tolerant: Red, Intermediate: Gold.
Genus/Family Common Name Count
Stegopterna Black Fly 65
Prosimulium Black Fly 52
Neoporus 1
Eurylophella Mayfly 1
Nigronia Megaloptera (Dark Fishfly) 1
Orthocladius Non-Biting Midges 1
Thienemannimyia Group Non-Biting Midges 1
Leptophlebiidae Pronggilled Mayfly 1
Dubiraphia Riffle Beetle 1
Optioservus Riffle Beetle 1
Eccoptura Yellow Stone Stonefly 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.