FOSC/Nature Forward (formerly Audubon Naturalist Society)
Biological Water Quality Monitoring/Data
Nature Forward has a well established, highly regarded macroinvertebrate monitoring program in the region. Friends of Sligo Creek began monitoring one site on Sligo Creek using Nature Forward’s water monitoring protocol in 2006. The site is located on Sligo Creek just south of where Sligo Creek Parkway meets University Boulevard in Wheaton (select the purple triangle on the map at right).
The primary goal of the monitoring is to have data for Sligo Creek represented in Nature Forward’s data set, which is periodically turned over to Montgomery County to help them assess the water quality of County streams. Other goals include public education, and to see for ourselves whether Sligo Creek’s water quality is getting better or worse over time. The Sligo Creek site has been named Audubon Naturalist Society (now Nature Forward) Site 34.
Biological Monitoring Sites on Sligo Creek.
The site monitored by FOSC is located just south of University Boulevard, marked with a purple triangle
The Water Quality Committee also conducts periodic cross section surveys of the stream channel at this site to see how it changes over time.
Keep an eye out for future monitoring events on the FOSC listserv (see the link on the Home page) and join us! The next monitoring will take place in Spring 2023. You can join FOSC to get event updates and the newsletter delivered to your inbox.
NOTE: Due to the COVID pandemic, biological monitoring was suspended in Spring 2020 with intermittent testing in 2021.
I. FOSC/NF Biological Monitoring Results for the
Nature Forward Site 34 in Upper Sligo Creek
| Date | Total | Aquatic Worms (Oligochaeta) or Flatworms, Planarians (Platyhelminthes) |
Caddisflies (Trichoptera) | Crayfish (Decapoda) | Dragonflies and Damselflies (Odonata) | Mayflies (Ephemeroptera) | Scud (Amphipoda) | Snail (Gastropoda) | True Flies (Diptera) | Clam (Bivalvia) | Beetles (Coleoptera) | Fishflies, etc. (Megaloptera) | True Bugs (Hemiptera) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10/24/2022 | 47 | 2 planaria | 17 netspinner, 22 fingernet | 1 | 0 | 1 (small minnow mayfly) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 (Asian) | 1 riffle beetle (adult) | 0 | 0 |
| 7/25/2022 | 100+ | 4 aquatic worms, 12 planaria | 75+ netspinner, 3 fingernet | 1 | 3 darner dragonflies | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 midges, 3 crane flies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4/30/2022 | 100+ | 22 aquatic worms | 25 netspinner | 1 | 0 | 65+ (small minnow mayflies) | 0 | 0 | 10 midges, 4 crane flies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10/15/2021 | 44 | 1 planaria | 35 netspinner, 3 fingernet | 1 | 0 | 1 (small minnow mayflies) | 0 | 0 | 3 crane flies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7/13/2021 | 67 | 1 planaria | 60 netspinner | 1 | 0 | 2 (small minnow mayflies) | 0 | 0 | 3 midges | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10/26/2019 | 102 | 3 planaria | 38 netspinner, 55 fingernet | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 midges, 2 crane flies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7/23/2019 | 100 | 3 aquatic worms, 4 planaria | 55 netspinner, 40 fingernet | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (pouch snail) | 5 crane flies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4/25/2019 | 100+ | 2 aquatic worms | 50+ netspinner | 0 | 0 | 14 (small minnow mayflies) | 0 | 0 | 21 midges, 4 crane flies | 1 (Asian) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10/13/2018 | 116 | 0 | 64 netspinner | 0 | 1 narrowed-winged damselfly | 0 | 30 | 0 | 4 midges, 9 crane flies | 7 (fingernail) | 1 riffle beetle (larva) | 0 | 0 |
| 7/31/2018 | 99 | 3 planaria | 74 netspinner, 8 fingernet | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 midges, 6 crane flies, 1 black fly | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 short-legged strider |
| 4/28/2018 | 40 | 2 aquatic worms | 20 netspinner | 0 | 4 narrowed-winged damselflies | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 midges, 1 black fly | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10/28/2017 | 60 | 0 | 50 (40 netspinner, 10 fingernet) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 (pond snails) | 6 midges | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4/27/2017 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 midges | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10/29/2016 | 13 | 1 aquatic worm | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 (5 midges, 5 mosquitos) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7/18/2016 | 54+ | 1 aquatic worm, 8 planaria | 8 | 0 | 0 | 6 (small minnow mayflies) | 0 | 0 | 31 (30+ midges, 1 crane fly) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4/30/2016 | 100+ | 2 aquatic worms | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 96+ (95+ midges, 1 crane fly) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10/31/2015 | 13 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 broadwinged damselflies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 (4 midges, 1 crane fly) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7/29/2015 | 11 | 1 aquatic worm | 1 | 0 | 1 darner dragonfly | 1 (small minnow mayfly) | 2 | 1 (pond snail) | 3 (2 midges, 1 crane fly) | 0 | 0 | 1 (dobsonfly) | 0 |
| 4/25/2015 | 100+ | 0 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 (pond snails) | 78+ midges | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10/18/2014 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 midge | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7/22/2014 | 100+ | 0 | 71+ | 0 | 5 damselflies | 3 (small minnow mayflies) | 4 | 8 (pond snails) | 9 (8 midges, 1 crane fly) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4/25/2014 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 (12 midges, 2 crane flies) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10/25/2013 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 midges | 0 | 1 riffle beetle (adult) | 0 | 0 |
| 7/15/2013 | 12 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 crane fly | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4/20/2013 | 100+ | 4 aquatic worms | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 95+ midges | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10/20/2012 | 100+ | 1 (planaria) | 1 | 0 | 1 darner dragonfly | 0 | 87+ | 0 | 10+ midges | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7/31/2012 | 100+ | 13 (planaria) | 0 | 1 | 3 damselflies (2 narrow-winged, 1 broad-winged) | 0 | 56+ | 0 | 20+ midges | 7 (fingernail) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4/25/2012 | 100+ | 3 (planaria) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30+ | 4 (pond snails) | 61+ (60+ midges, 1 crane fly) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10/15/2011 | 32 | 4 aquatic worms, 2 planaria | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 1 (pond snail) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 07/21/2011 | 100+ | 3 | 5 | 1 | 6 (5 darner dragonflies, 1 broad-winged damselfly) |
0 | 20 | 0 | 67+ (65+ midges, 2 mosquitos) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 04/20/2011 | 100+ | 0 | 17 | 0 | 1 (dragonfly) |
0 | 12 | 0 | 70+ (67+ midges, 3 crane flies) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10/09/2010 | 100+ | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 (damselflies) |
0 | 100+ | 0 | 11 (10 midges, 1 crane fly) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7/06/2010 | 100+ | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100+ | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4/17/2010 | 68 | 5 | 40 | 0 | 0 | 3 (small minnow mayflies) | 7 | 0 | 13 (10 midges, 3 crane flies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10/25/2009 | 100+ | 1 | 100+ | 1 | 2 (1 damselfly, 1 dragonfly) | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 (crane fly) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7/16/2009 | 54 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 (dragonfly) | 12 (small minnow mayflies) | 23 | 1 | 13 (12 midges, 1 crane fly) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3/28/2009 | 59 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 (damselfly) | 0 | 24 | 0 | 33 (32 midges, 1 crane fly) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10/18/2008 | 100+ | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 (damselflies) | 0 | 100+ | 0 | 5 (midge) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7/5/2008 | 55 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 (2 damselflies, 1 dragonfly) | 0 | 41 | 0 | 7 (midge) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4/5/2008 | 179 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 1 (limpet) | 155 (151 midges, 3 black flies, 1 crane fly) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9/8/2007 (low flow conditions) |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7/8/2007 | 26 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 1 (small minnow mayfly) | 9 | 0 | 2 (1 midge, 1 crane fly) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5/11/2007 | 26 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 (3 midges, 2 black flies, 1 crane fly) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2/03/2007 | 15 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 7 (4 midges, 3 crane flies) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9/11/2006 | 60 | 0 | 44 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 4 (midges) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7/10/2006 | 100 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 84 | 0 | 10 (9 midges, 1 crane fly) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
II. FOSC/NF Biological Monitoring Results for the
Nature Forward Site 49 in Lower Sligo Creek
| NATURE FORWARD (formerly Audubon Naturalist Society) – WATER QUALITY MONITORING PROGRAM | ||||||||||||||
| BENTHIC MACROINVERTEBRATE DATA for 2 new sites in Prince George’s County | ||||||||||||||
| SPRING – SUMMER – FALL 2022 | ||||||||||||||
| 04/02/22 | 07/10/22 | 10/30/22 | 04/16/22 | 07/23/22 | 10/16/22 | |||||||||
| SLIGO CREEK | SLIGO CREEK | SLIGO CREEK | NORTHWEST BRANCH | NORTHWEST BRANCH | NORTHWEST BRANCH | |||||||||
| PHYLUM | ORDER (or subclass) | FAMILY | GENUS | COMMON NAME | COUNT | COUNT | COUNT | COUNT | COUNT | COUNT | ||||
| Annelida | Hirudinea | Erpobdellidae | Leeches (cylindrical) | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | |||||
| Annelida | Oligochaeta | Lumbriculidae | Aquatic worms | 3 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 3 | 1 | |||||
| Platyhelminthes | Tricladida | Dugesiidae | Planarians, flatworms | 6 | 2 | 28 | 3 | 2 | 4 | |||||
| Arthropoda | Amphipoda | Gammaridae | Scuds | 2 | – | – | 3 | – | 1 | |||||
| Arthropoda | Coleoptera | Elmidae | genus not identified | Riffle beetles (adults) | – | – | – | 2 | – | 1 | ||||
| Arthropoda | Coleoptera | Elmidae | Stenelmis | Riffle beetles (adults) | – | – | – | – | 2 | – | ||||
| Arthropoda | Diptera | Chironomidae | Midges | 34 | – | – | 61 | 7 | – | |||||
| Arthropoda | Diptera | Simuliidae | Black flies | 4 | 1 | – | 1 | 1 | – | |||||
| Arthropoda | Diptera | Tipulidae | genus not identified | Crane flies | 1 | – | – | – | – | 3 | ||||
| Arthropoda | Diptera | Tipulidae | Antocha | Crane flies | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | ||||
| Arthropoda | Diptera | Tipulidae | Dicranota | Crane flies | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | ||||
| Arthropoda | Diptera | Tipulidae | Tipula | Crane flies | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | ||||
| Arthropoda | Trichoptera | Hydropsychidae | Common netspinner caddisflies | 14 | 17 | 28 | 7 | 61 | 42 | |||||
| Arthropoda | Trichoptera | Leptoceridae | Longhorned case maker caddis | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | |||||
| Arthropoda | Trichoptera | Philopotamidae | Fingernet caddisflies | 32 | 35 | 39 | 6 | 1 | 33 | |||||
| Arthropoda | Trichoptera | Polycentropodidae | Trumpetnet caddisflies | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | |||||
| Arthropoda | Trichoptera | Uenoidae | Uenoid case maker caddisflies | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | |||||
| Arthropoda | Ephemeroptera | Baetidae | Small minnow mayflies | – | 43 | 2 | 4 | 27 | 12 | |||||
| Arthropoda | Ephemeroptera | Heptageniidae | Flatheaded mayflies | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||
| Arthropoda | Odonata/Zygoptera | Calopterygidae | Broadwinged damelflies | 3 | – | – | 1 | 1 | 3 | |||||
| Arthropoda | Odonata/Zygoptera | Coenagrionidae | Narrowwinged damselflies | 1 | – | – | 8 | – | – | |||||
| Arthropoda | Megaloptera | Corydalidae | Corydalus | Dobsonflies | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | – | ||||
| Arthropoda | Megaloptera | Corydalidae | Nigronia | Fishflies | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | ||||
| 103 | 103 | 101 | 107 | 110 | 102 | |||||||||
| ANS IBI score / Health rating | 1.57 / Poor | 1.86 / Poor | 1.00 / Poor | 2.14 / Fair | 2.71 / Fair | 2.14 / Fair | ||||||||
| pH | 7.6 + | 7.6 + | 8.1 | 7.6 | 7.6 | 7.6 | ||||||||
| Ambient air temperature | 10.0⁰ C | 27.0⁰ C | 17.0⁰ C | 26.0⁰ C | 32.0⁰ C | 14.0⁰ C | ||||||||
| Average water temperature | 11.0⁰ C | 22.8⁰ C | 10.7⁰ C | 18.0⁰ C | 25.3⁰ C | 13.6⁰ C | ||||||||
| Sites | ||||||||||||||
| 1. Sligo Creek near the Pepco ROW in Takoma Park (38.976534, -76.986064). | ||||||||||||||
| 2. Northwest Branch at Riggs Road at the Adelphi Mill Rec Center (38.992694, -76.972954). | ||||||||||||||
| Notes | ||||||||||||||
| -The collection was subsampled to record 100 specimens (or slightly more based on counting all specimens in the subsampling tray’s cell where the 100th specimen was reached). | ||||||||||||||
| -The stream health rating is based on the benthic macroinvertebrate survey. | ||||||||||||||
| -We used a high range pH test kit for Sligo Creek for Fall 2022 (our standard test kits have an upper limit of 7.6). | ||||||||||||||
| -All macroinvertebrates were returned to the streams.
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