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

North Bear Creek North Bear Creek Public Access

Fish Session #196

Sample Date
7/25/2000
Timeframe
0800-1000  
Reach Size
535 ft
Method
Standard Wadeable
Sample Quality
Fair
Last Update
2/28/2025 9:23:50 AM

Fish Health

# DELTs
3
# Non-DELTs
0

Equipment

Backpack Shockers
2
Blocknets
0
Property Access Notice

This site is on public land, such as a county park, state park, or state-managed wildlife area.

FIBI Score
54
Warm Water
Good
Session Comments

Cloudy, rain threatening. Flow level was above normal flow because of abundant rainfall this year. Turbidity level was moderate. The stream bottom was visible to approx 2.5 ft. sampling effectiveness was only fair (2) because of flow level, current velocity, and 1 deep, inaccessible spot. Did not have time to do all 10 transects for hab sampling.

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
Mottled Sculpin
Latin: Cottus bairdii
Family: Cottidae
Tolerance: Sensitive
Trophic: Benthic Invertivore
Is Exotic: False
Is LithoSpawner: False
Is Hybrid: False
74
Brown Trout
Latin: Salmo trutta
Family: Salmonidae
Tolerance: Sensitive
Trophic: Top Carnivore
Is Exotic: True
Is LithoSpawner: False
Is Hybrid: False
55
White Sucker
Latin: Catostomus commersonii
Family: Catostomidae
Tolerance: Intermediate
Trophic: Omnivore
Is Exotic: False
Is LithoSpawner: False
Is Hybrid: False
18
Western Blacknose Dace
Latin: Rhinichthys obtusus
Family: Leuciscidae
Tolerance: Intermediate
Trophic: Insectivore
Is Exotic: False
Is LithoSpawner: False
Is Hybrid: False
12
Fantail Darter
Latin: Etheostoma flabellare
Family: Percidae
Tolerance: Intermediate
Trophic: Benthic Invertivore
Is Exotic: False
Is LithoSpawner: False
Is Hybrid: False
11
Longnose Dace
Latin: Rhinichthys cataractae
Family: Leuciscidae
Tolerance: Sensitive
Trophic: Benthic Invertivore
Is Exotic: False
Is LithoSpawner: False
Is Hybrid: False
9
Rainbow Trout
Latin: Oncorhynchus mykiss
Family: Salmonidae
Tolerance: Sensitive
Trophic: Top Carnivore
Is Exotic: True
Is LithoSpawner: False
Is Hybrid: False
3
Brook Stickleback
Latin: Culaea inconstans
Family: Gasterosteidae
Tolerance: Sensitive
Trophic: Insectivore
Is Exotic: False
Is LithoSpawner: False
Is Hybrid: False
2
Creek Chub
Latin: Semotilus atromaculatus
Family: Leuciscidae
Tolerance: Tolerant
Trophic: Generalist
Is Exotic: False
Is LithoSpawner: False
Is Hybrid: False
1
Green Sunfish
Latin: Lepomis cyanellus
Family: Centrarchidae
Tolerance: Tolerant
Trophic: Generalist
Is Exotic: False
Is LithoSpawner: False
Is Hybrid: False
1

FIBI Calculation Factors

Factor Value
Drainage area (mi2) 31.7430
Log(DA) 1.5016
Total Fish 186
Fish per 500 ft 174
Total Species 10
# Excluded Taxa 0
# Exotic Species 2
# LMB-BG 0
Calculation Last Updated 2/28/2025 9:23:50 AM

Fish Index of Biotic Integrity

Metric Name Value Score
Native Species 8 3.2
Sucker Species 1 2.04
Sensitive Species 5 5.83
Benthic Invertivore Species 3 3.33
Top 3 Abundance Percentage 79.03 3.58
Benthic Invertivore Percentage 50.54 10
Omnivore Percentage 9.68 9.28
Top Carnivore Percentage 31.18 10
Lithophilous Spawner Percentage 0 0
Tolerance Index 1.21 10
Adjusted Catch per Unit Effort 23.55 2.36
DELT Percentage Adjustment 1.61 0

FIBI Score Explained

Sites that score between 51 - 70 are considered good. Fish (excluding tolerant species) are fairly abundant to very abundant. If high numbers are present, intermediately tolerant species or tolerant species are usually dominant. A moderately high number of fish species belonging to several families are present. The three most abundant fish species typically comprise two-thirds or less of the total number of fish. Several long-lived species and benthic invertivore species are present. One or more sensitive species are usually present. Top carnivore species are usually present in low numbers and often one or more life stages are missing. Species that require silt-free, rock substrate for spawning or feeding are present in low proportion to the total number of fish. Fish condition is good; typically less than 1% of the total number of fish exhibits external anomalies associated with disease or stress.

This location has been classified as a Rejected Reference Site. This site was a Reference Site at one time, but subsequent biological assessments have determined that this site no longer meets the qualifications of a Reference Site.

EcoRegion Comparison

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

Paleozoic Plateau (Driftless Area)

This site is in the Paleozoic Plateau (Driftless Area) ecoregion.

Ecoregion Map
Max 91
75th Percentile 63
Median 54
25th Percentile 47
Min 9
This Session's Score 54
Total Reference Site Samples 114
Mean 55.61
Standard Deviation 16.18