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

Elk Creek Elk Creek Marsh SWMA - Kensett

Fish Session #226

Sample Date
9/7/2000
Timeframe
Unspecified  
Reach Size
720 ft
Method
Standard Wadeable
Sample Quality
Not Assessed
Last Update
2/28/2025 10:35:06 AM

Fish Health

# DELTs
0
# Non-DELTs
0

Equipment

Backpack Shockers
2
Blocknets
1
Property Access Notice

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

FIBI Score
21
Warm Water
Poor
Session Comments

Whole station very turbid, duckweed abundant, hardly flowing. Unusual abundance of snails and mussels.

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
Fathead Minnow
Latin: Pimephales promelas
Family: Leuciscidae
Tolerance: Tolerant
Trophic: Omnivore
Is Exotic: False
Is LithoSpawner: False
Is Hybrid: False
42
Green Sunfish
Latin: Lepomis cyanellus
Family: Centrarchidae
Tolerance: Tolerant
Trophic: Generalist
Is Exotic: False
Is LithoSpawner: False
Is Hybrid: False
35
Black Bullhead
Latin: Ameiurus melas
Family: Ictaluridae
Tolerance: Tolerant
Trophic: Generalist
Is Exotic: False
Is LithoSpawner: False
Is Hybrid: False
14
Common Carp
Latin: Cyprinus carpio
Family: Cyprinidae
Tolerance: Tolerant
Trophic: Omnivore
Is Exotic: True
Is LithoSpawner: False
Is Hybrid: False
13
Northern Pike
Latin: Esox lucius
Family: Esocidae
Tolerance: Sensitive
Trophic: Top Carnivore
Is Exotic: False
Is LithoSpawner: False
Is Hybrid: False
3
Orangespotted Sunfish
Latin: Lepomis humilis
Family: Centrarchidae
Tolerance: Intermediate
Trophic: Insectivore
Is Exotic: False
Is LithoSpawner: False
Is Hybrid: False
3
Largemouth Bass
Latin: Micropterus nigricans
Family: Centrarchidae
Tolerance: Intermediate
Trophic: Top Carnivore-LMB Exclusion
Is Exotic: False
Is LithoSpawner: False
Is Hybrid: False
2
Yellow Perch
Latin: Perca flavescens
Family: Percidae
Tolerance: Intermediate
Trophic: Insectivore
Is Exotic: False
Is LithoSpawner: False
Is Hybrid: False
2
Central Mudminnow
Latin: Umbra limi
Family: Esocidae
Tolerance: Tolerant
Trophic: Insectivore
Is Exotic: False
Is LithoSpawner: False
Is Hybrid: False
1
Carmine Shiner
Latin: Notropis percobromus
Family: Leuciscidae
Tolerance: Sensitive
Trophic: Insectivore
Is Exotic: False
Is LithoSpawner: False
Is Hybrid: False
1
Yellow Bullhead
Latin: Ameiurus natalis
Family: Ictaluridae
Tolerance: Intermediate
Trophic: Benthic Invertivore
Is Exotic: False
Is LithoSpawner: False
Is Hybrid: False
1
Black Crappie
Latin: Pomoxis nigromaculatus
Family: Centrarchidae
Tolerance: Intermediate
Trophic: Top Carnivore
Is Exotic: False
Is LithoSpawner: False
Is Hybrid: False
1
Spotfin Shiner
Latin: Cyprinella spiloptera
Family: Leuciscidae
Tolerance: Intermediate
Trophic: Insectivore
Is Exotic: False
Is LithoSpawner: False
Is Hybrid: False
1

FIBI Calculation Factors

Factor Value
Drainage area (mi2) 40.7450
Log(DA) 1.6101
Total Fish 119
Fish per 500 ft 83
Total Species 13
# Excluded Taxa 0
# Exotic Species 1
# LMB-BG 1
Calculation Last Updated 2/28/2025 10:35:06 AM

Fish Index of Biotic Integrity

Metric Name Value Score
Native Species 11 4.1
Sucker Species 0 0
Sensitive Species 2 2.18
Benthic Invertivore Species 1 1.04
Top 3 Abundance Percentage 76.47 3.75
Benthic Invertivore Percentage 0.84 0.22
Omnivore Percentage 46.22 4.46
Top Carnivore Percentage 3.36 6.32
Lithophilous Spawner Percentage 0 0
Tolerance Index 9.24 1.21
Adjusted Catch per Unit Effort 1.94 0.19
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 Candidate Reference Site. Further study is required to determine if this site represents natural stream qualities that are least disturbed by human activities within the watershed.

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 62
Median 51
25th Percentile 38
Min 13
This Session's Score 21
Total Reference Site Samples 125
Mean 50.2
Standard Deviation 15.93