Recent Streams News

The Effects of Hurricanes and Tropical Storms on Stormwater Runoff and Maryland’s Streams

During the summer of 2011, Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee combined to drop a large amount of rain on Maryland. Stormwater runoff is a natural occurence, but its effects can be worsened by urbanization and an increase in impervious surfaces. The Maryland Biolgical Stream Survey made extra trips to see if there were any adverse reprecussions from this influx of heavy rains.

Check out this short fact sheet on stormwater, runoff, and its affects on Maryland streams.

The MBSS and Hydro-ecological Assessment

The Department of Natural Resources’ Monitoring and Non-Tidal Assessment Division is one of several agencies (Maryland Department of the Environment, Maryland Geological Survey, and U.S. Geological Survey) participating in a study of ground and surface waters in the Fractured-Rock area of Maryland. This study is being conducted because watersheds in the Fractured-Rock area are showing signs of having limited availability to providing water for human consumption without causing adverse impact to streams.

To learn more about research on flow changes due to droughts, go here

For more information, check out this fact sheet

Monitoring Fish Passage on the Patapsco River

The Maryland Biological Stream Survey (MBSS), in collaboration with American Rivers, NOAA, and the Maryland Fisheries Service, is performing biological monitoring in the Lower North Branch Patapsco River as part of the removal of Simkins and Union Dams. The goals of this project are to determine the potential impacts of dam removal on American eel (Anguilla rostrata) distribution as well as fish, benthic macroinvertebrate, and freshwater mussel communities of the Patapsco River.

Learn more in this fact sheet.

   

MBSS Spring and Summer Training Dates Announced

The Maryland Biological Stream Survey is again offering training and testing sessions for biologists conducting stream sampling in Maryland. This training is geared towards academics and professionals working in the field. The 2011 trainings will be held at Harford Glen Environmental Education Center. Please see http://www.harfordglen.org for directions and information.

MBSS Summer Index Period training will be held at the same location on 16-19 May. On 16 and 17 May, you’ll have the opportunity to learn and review fish, herpetofauna, crayfish, exotic plant, and mussel taxonomy. Taxonomic experts will provide hands-on assistance and taxonomic review as required. The cost for the summer training session will be $150 per person, and the registration deadline is May 9th.

For more information and a registration form, please view this .pdf file. Please contact Scott Stranko sstranko@dnr.state.md.us for more information about the content of the training, and Jeanne Pollard jpollard@dnr.state.md.us for more information about registration.

Gear Cleaning, Does it Make a Difference?

That is a question that many people ask when they learn that they are being asked to carefully clean their gear after each use. After all, many people reason, ‘I really don’t do anything that makes me especially different and, I am in a hurry to get home after fishing and after all, I really don’t see why cleaning is so important’. The truth is that any one of us could be the one to transport a devastating new species to our favorite water. Proof that we need to clean is well documented and cleaning is something we all should do every time.

Things to Remember

• Anglers and water monitors pick up mud on their boots
• Mud can carry invasive species
• Anglers and water monitors are highly mobile
• Felt-soled boots are known vectors for invasive species
• Don’t use felt-soled boots
• Inspect, Clean & Dry should be a routine practice for anglers and water monitors

Learn more in this .pdf file

Brazilian Graduate Student Checks Out the MBSS

Renato Romero, a Ph.D. student at Sao Paulo State University, Brazil, spent July 13 and 14, 2010, in the field with one of the MBSS crews sampling streams in Charles County. He also presented a seminar titled “Biomonitoring Studies in Brazilian Watersheds: a Micro and Macro-Approach” at DNR on July 16. Renato was in the U.S. to attend two scientific conferences: the Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists in Providence, Rhode Island, and the American Ecological Society in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His visit to DNR to learn more about the MBSS was facilitated by Dr. Bob Hughes (U.S. EPA, Corvallis, Oregon), who is working with several Brazilian scientists to develop biomonitoring methods for their streams. Although the species of stream fishes and habitats Renato is studying in Brazil differ from Maryland streams, there are also many similarities. Hopefully, a collaborative paper with Renato will be forthcoming soon.

MBSS Crew Finds Zebra Mussels During Maryland Darter Search

During the week of July 5-9, 2010, while searching for Maryland darters in the Susquehanna River below Conowingo Dam, a MBSS crew led by Jay Kilian and Matt Ashton collected 11 suspicious-looking freshwater mussels that were confirmed to be zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha)----see photo.. We now know that a population of this non-native, invasive mussel is established in this portion of the Susquehanna. Although their density is currently low, the 11 zebra mussels were large, ranging in shell length from 23 to 38 mm, and probably 3-4 years old. MD DNR is urging boaters, anglers, and other recreational water users who enjoy the lower Susquehanna River to help stop the spread of harmful zebra mussels to other Maryland waters.

The Blackbanded Sunfish: Protecting One of the Rarest Fishes in Maryland

Once known from swampy streams and millponds within the Delaware, Choptank, Nanticoke, Wicomico, and Pocomoke river basins on the Delmarva Peninsula, the Blackbanded Sunfish has declined over the past 50 years and is now exceedingly rare in Maryland and Delaware.In response to the regional decline of this species, biologists from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources MDNR) Maryland Biological Stream Survey, MDNR Fisheries Service, Natural Heritage Program, Frostburg State University, and the Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife initiated an interstate conservation action strategy in January 2008. The goal of the strategy is to protect Blackbanded Sunfish in Maryland and Delaware by developing and implementing specific conservation actions necessary to protect all populations.

Continue this story

The Invasion of the Rusty Crayfish in Maryland

The invasive Rusty Crayfish was discovered by biologists of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) in Marsh Creek, a northern tributary to the Monocacy River, in 2007.This crayfish, a formidable invader and nuisance species that has caused ecological damage in many other regions (http://dnr.maryland.gov/invasives/rustycrayfish.pdf), is believed to have been introduced into the Monocacy River as bait by anglers. It is now highly abundant and reproducing in the northern portion of the river. Since any attempt to eradicate this species would cause undue harm to other aquatic species and would likely prove futile, MDNR focused its efforts on preventing the spread of Rusty Crayfish by anglers from the Monocacy into other Maryland watersheds.

Continue this story.

Maryland Darter Survey

The Maryland Darter is the only fish species endemic to Maryland, meaning it is found only in this state. It was last seen several years ago in Deer Creek near to the Susquehanna River. State biologists are concerned that changes in land use have caused the extirpation of this unique bottom-dwelling fish. DNR is conducting surveys in conjunction with Frostburg State and Marshall University to see if there is a population still inhabiting the area.

For more information, see our 2011 and 2012 reports.

 

 

This page was last updated 4/2013