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

Middle Bear Creek Highlandville

Fish Session #44

Sample Date
7/12/1995
Timeframe
Unspecified  
Reach Size
351 ft
Method
Standard Wadeable
Sample Quality
Good
Last Update
2/26/2025 7:21:18 AM

Fish Health

# DELTs
0
# Non-DELTs
0

Equipment

Backpack Shockers
2
Blocknets
2
Property Access Notice

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

FIBI Score
82
Warm Water
Excellent
Session Comments

9/29/2022 - per review by JRO, changed 175 Cottus spp to Mottled Sculpin, as all 15 Cottus in the voucher chars were C. bairdii.

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
206
Fantail Darter
Latin: Etheostoma flabellare
Family: Percidae
Tolerance: Intermediate
Trophic: Benthic Invertivore
Is Exotic: False
Is LithoSpawner: False
Is Hybrid: False
67
Western Blacknose Dace
Latin: Rhinichthys obtusus
Family: Leuciscidae
Tolerance: Intermediate
Trophic: Insectivore
Is Exotic: False
Is LithoSpawner: False
Is Hybrid: False
42
White Sucker
Latin: Catostomus commersonii
Family: Catostomidae
Tolerance: Intermediate
Trophic: Omnivore
Is Exotic: False
Is LithoSpawner: False
Is Hybrid: False
10
Brook Stickleback
Latin: Culaea inconstans
Family: Gasterosteidae
Tolerance: Sensitive
Trophic: Insectivore
Is Exotic: False
Is LithoSpawner: False
Is Hybrid: False
4
Longnose Dace
Latin: Rhinichthys cataractae
Family: Leuciscidae
Tolerance: Sensitive
Trophic: Benthic Invertivore
Is Exotic: False
Is LithoSpawner: False
Is Hybrid: False
2
Golden Redhorse
Latin: Moxostoma erythrurum
Family: Catostomidae
Tolerance: Intermediate
Trophic: Benthic Invertivore
Is Exotic: False
Is LithoSpawner: True
Is Hybrid: False
2
Johnny Darter
Latin: Etheostoma nigrum
Family: Percidae
Tolerance: Intermediate
Trophic: Benthic Invertivore
Is Exotic: False
Is LithoSpawner: False
Is Hybrid: False
2
Rainbow Trout
Latin: Oncorhynchus mykiss
Family: Salmonidae
Tolerance: Sensitive
Trophic: Top Carnivore
Is Exotic: True
Is LithoSpawner: False
Is Hybrid: False
1
Creek Chub
Latin: Semotilus atromaculatus
Family: Leuciscidae
Tolerance: Tolerant
Trophic: Generalist
Is Exotic: False
Is LithoSpawner: False
Is Hybrid: False
1

FIBI Calculation Factors

Factor Value
Drainage area (mi2) 4.5900
Log(DA) 0.6618
Total Fish 337
Fish per 500 ft 480
Total Species 10
# Excluded Taxa 0
# Exotic Species 1
# LMB-BG 0
Calculation Last Updated 2/26/2025 7:21:19 AM

Fish Index of Biotic Integrity

Metric Name Value Score
Native Species 9 8.16
Sucker Species 2 9.27
Sensitive Species 4 10
Benthic Invertivore Species 5 10
Top 3 Abundance Percentage 93.47 2.53
Benthic Invertivore Percentage 82.79 10
Omnivore Percentage 2.97 10
Top Carnivore Percentage 0.3 10
Lithophilous Spawner Percentage 0.59 0.74
Tolerance Index 1.85 10
Adjusted Catch per Unit Effort 95.44 9.54
DELT Percentage Adjustment 0 0

FIBI Score Explained

Sites that score between 71 - 100 are considered excellent. Fish (excluding tolerant species) are fairly abundant or abundant. A high number of native species are present, including many long-lived, habitat specialist, and sensitive species. Sensitive fish species and species of intermediate pollution tolerance are numerically dominant. The three most abundant fish species typically comprise 50% or less of the total number of fish. Top carnivores are usually present in appropriate numbers and multiple life stages. Habitat specialists, such as benthic invertivore and simple lithophilous spawning fish are present at near optimal levels. Fish condition is good; typically less than 1% of total fish exhibit 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 53
25th Percentile 47
Min 9
This Session's Score 82
Total Reference Site Samples 118
Mean 55.41
Standard Deviation 15.95