Highlighting engaging educational articles on water science, nature, and species, along with important MBI news.
Feb 5th, 2026
2026 Big & Little Darby Creek Conservation
Dec 9th, 2025
MBI Completes a New and Revised “Ohio Stream Guide!”
Nov 3rd, 2025
Get to know our 2025 Crews
Mar 17th, 2023
A Snapshot of “Ancient” Mussels in Central Ohio
Jun 25th, 2021
Shining Star Roger Thoma Retires
Jun 8th, 2021
Best of luck, Blair!
Oct 31st, 2017
Disco Wasn't the Only Bad Thing about the 70s
Publications
Explore our newest educational content about freshwater ecosystems, fascinating species, and more.
Feb 5th, 2026
2026 Big & Little Darby Creek Conservation
Dec 9th, 2025
MBI Completes a New and Revised “Ohio Stream Guide!”
Nov 12th, 2025
Biological and Water Quality Assessment of the Roberts Millikin Ditch, Barbee Ditch, and Dry Run Subwatersheds 2024
Nov 3rd, 2025
Get to know our 2025 Crews
Dec 23rd, 2024
MBI/2023-7-15
Relationships and Thresholds for Continuous Dissolved Oxygen Variables, Nutrient Effects, and Biological Attributes in Northeast Illinois Rivers and Streams
Dec 17th, 2024
MBI/2024-3-1
Biological and Water Quality Assessment of the Upper Des Plaines River 2022
Browse our complete library of publications organized by type - from educational articles to comprehensive technical research.
Need help with technical terminology? Our glossary provides clear definitions of key terms used in freshwater science and environmental research.
A site selected to represent an approximation of reference condition and by comparison to other sites being assessed. For the purpose of assessing the ecological condition of other sites, a reference site is a specific locality on a waterbody that is minimally or least disturbed and is representative of the expected ecological condition of other localities on the same waterbody or nearby waterbodies.
This section of the Act requires States, territories, and authorized Tribes to develop lists of impaired waters for which applicable water quality standards are not being met, even after point sources of pollution have installed the minimum required levels of pollution control technology. The law requires that these jurisdictions establish priority rankings for waters on the lists and develop TMDLs for these waters. States, territories, and authorized Tribes are to submit their list of waters on April 1 in every even-numbered year.
A simplified form of the QHEI, a qualitative habitat evaluation assessment tool that is applied to streams and rivers in the Midwest and which is used to identify habitat variables that are important to aquatic assemblages in streams.
Technical Reports
Comprehensive reports detailing our research findings, data analyses, and environmental assessments.
Nov 12th, 2025
Biological and Water Quality Assessment of the Roberts Millikin Ditch, Barbee Ditch, and Dry Run Subwatersheds 2024
Dec 23rd, 2024
MBI/2023-7-15
Relationships and Thresholds for Continuous Dissolved Oxygen Variables, Nutrient Effects, and Biological Attributes in Northeast Illinois Rivers and Streams
Dec 17th, 2024
MBI/2024-3-1
Biological and Water Quality Assessment of the Upper Des Plaines River 2022
Jun 24th, 2024
Watershed Monitoring and Bioassessment Plan for the Central Ohio Watersheds
Mar 14th, 2024
MBI/2023-12-12
Biological and Water Quality Assessment of the Middle Scioto River, Lower Olentangy River, and Lower Olentangy Tributaries 2022
Aug 7th, 2023
MBI/2020-5-10
Integrated Prioritization System (IPS) for Northeastern Illinois: Technical Documentation and Atlas of Stressor Relationships
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