Iowa DNR
BioNet
River & Stream Biological Monitoring
Fish and Benthic Macroinvertebrate Surveys
Physical Habitat Assessments

South Skunk River Ames

Fish Session #1466

Sample Date
7/18/2013
Timeframe
0945-1045  
Reach Size
1409 ft
Method
Standard Wadeable
Sample Quality
Poor
Last Update
1/18/2017 9:14:51 AM

Fish Health

# DELTs
0
# Non-DELTs
1

Equipment

Backpack Shockers
0
Blocknets
2
Barge Shocker
True
Property Access Notice

This site is on privately-owned land. The DNR obtains permission from the landowner(s) prior to conducting any sampling surveys.

FIBI Score
13
Warm Water
Poor
Session Comments

Most fish did not respond to the shock even though we were running 4-6 amps the whole time. Unsure of why the poor effectiveness, our best guess is that the conductivity of the stream was very high. Also had a loose connection in one of the probes causing shock to pulse in and out for last part of reach. Humidity and water temps high which also could have effected the outcome.

Collected Fish

Identity verification status for this species
Size Class: Typically only collected for sportfish
Taxa excluded from species count metrics.
Click on species name for more information about that species
Species Catch
Shorthead Redhorse
Latin: Moxostoma macrolepidotum
Family: Catostomidae
Tolerance: Intermediate
Trophic: Benthic Invertivore
Is Exotic: False
Is LithoSpawner: True
Is Hybrid: False
6
Red Shiner
Latin: Cyprinella lutrensis
Family: Leuciscidae
Tolerance: Tolerant
Trophic: Omnivore
Is Exotic: False
Is LithoSpawner: False
Is Hybrid: False
4
White Sucker
Latin: Catostomus commersonii
Family: Catostomidae
Tolerance: Intermediate
Trophic: Omnivore
Is Exotic: False
Is LithoSpawner: False
Is Hybrid: False
4
Channel Catfish
Latin: Ictalurus punctatus
Family: Ictaluridae
Tolerance: Intermediate
Trophic: Top Carnivore
Is Exotic: False
Is LithoSpawner: False
Is Hybrid: False
3
Northern Hog Sucker
Latin: Hypentelium nigricans
Family: Catostomidae
Tolerance: Sensitive
Trophic: Benthic Invertivore
Is Exotic: False
Is LithoSpawner: True
Is Hybrid: False
3
Highfin Carpsucker
Latin: Carpiodes velifer
Family: Catostomidae
Tolerance: Intermediate
Trophic: Omnivore
Is Exotic: False
Is LithoSpawner: False
Is Hybrid: False
2
Smallmouth Bass
Latin: Micropterus dolomieu
Family: Centrarchidae
Tolerance: Sensitive
Trophic: Top Carnivore
Is Exotic: False
Is LithoSpawner: False
Is Hybrid: False
2
Sand Shiner
Latin: Miniellus stramineus
Family: Leuciscidae
Tolerance: Intermediate
Trophic: Insectivore
Is Exotic: False
Is LithoSpawner: False
Is Hybrid: False
1
Slender Madtom
Latin: Noturus exilis
Family: Ictaluridae
Tolerance: Sensitive
Trophic: Benthic Invertivore
Is Exotic: False
Is LithoSpawner: False
Is Hybrid: False
1
Fantail Darter
Latin: Etheostoma flabellare
Family: Percidae
Tolerance: Intermediate
Trophic: Benthic Invertivore
Is Exotic: False
Is LithoSpawner: False
Is Hybrid: False
1
Hybrid: Green Sunfish X Bluegill
Latin: Lepomis cyanellus X L. macrochirus
Family: Centrarchidae
Tolerance: N/A
Trophic: N/A
Is Exotic: False
Is LithoSpawner: False
Is Hybrid: True
1
White Crappie
Latin: Pomoxis annularis
Family: Centrarchidae
Tolerance: Intermediate
Trophic: Top Carnivore
Is Exotic: False
Is LithoSpawner: False
Is Hybrid: False
1

FIBI Calculation Factors

Factor Value
Drainage area (mi2) 254.2660
Log(DA) 2.4053
Total Fish 29
Fish per 500 ft 10
Total Species 12
# Excluded Taxa 0
# Exotic Species 0
# LMB-BG 0
Calculation Last Updated 2/7/2025 2:32:28 PM

Fish Index of Biotic Integrity

Metric Name Value Score
Native Species 11 3.14
Sucker Species 4 5.1
Sensitive Species 3 2.5
Benthic Invertivore Species 4 3.33
Top 3 Abundance Percentage 48.28 0
Benthic Invertivore Percentage 39.29 0
Omnivore Percentage 35.71 0
Top Carnivore Percentage 21.43 0
Lithophilous Spawner Percentage 31.03 0
Tolerance Index 4.64 0
Adjusted Catch per Unit Effort 1.7 0.17
DELT Percentage Adjustment 0 0

FIBI Score Explained

Sites that score between 0 - 25 are considered poor. Fish abundance is usually lower than normal or, if fish are abundant, the collection is dominated by a few tolerant species. The number of native fish species present is low. Sensitive species and habitat specialists are absent or extremely rare. The population is dominated by just a few ubiquitous species that are tolerant of wide-ranging water quality and habitat conditions. Pioneering, introduced and/or short-lived fish species are typically the most abundant types of fish. Fish collected at poor sites often have a higher than normal occurrence of external physical anomalies.

This location has been classified as a Reference Site. Reference sites represent natural stream qualities that are least disturbed by human activities within the watershed. These sites are then grouped by ecoregion to establish a benchmark against which other streams in the same ecoregion are compared.

EcoRegion Comparison

Scores for a sampling session are compared against reference sites within the same ecoregion:

Des Moines Lobe

This site is in the Des Moines Lobe ecoregion.

Ecoregion Map
Max 85
75th Percentile 61
Median 51
25th Percentile 38
Min 13
This Session's Score 13
Total Reference Site Samples 129
Mean 49.84
Standard Deviation 16.13