On September 10, 2012, Dr. Rood took our class to the Ocmulgee River to do some basic testing. We were unable to measure elevation levels because we were missing a level. We did get to take clam counts and make a better educated guess to where they prefer to inhabit. We also did a water velocity test with an old soda bottle we found laying in the river bed. The above pictures shows the area we walked around, the approximate sites of the clam excavations and a similar path to which the soda bottle traveled for out velocity calculation. The above picture is not quite what the river looked like upon the day of our visit, in which the water was more shallow and revealed more islands.
           The water velocity calculation we used involving getting to two different locations, in the direction and opposite the direction of the flow, were we knew the distance from each other and then placing the bottle in the water and timing it from beginning to end. Once we had the time, we divided the distance by the time elapsed and came up with our water velocity for that segment of the waterway.
           The clam counts involved a filter type of device, let's call it a screen, that we would shovel sand into and then rinse until all the sand was pushed through the screen leaving behind the material that was too large to be pushed through the filter. Once the sand had been washed through, we took count of the clam shells that were remaining in the screen. We did this at three different locations and counted the largest clam population was where there was more water. Thus, leading one to assume, that clams prefer the water content to the sandy content.
            Unfortunately, we did not get to attempt the elevation determining section of the lab as we did not have a level for the string. My understanding of the experiment is that you have two poles, with lengths marked on them, connected by a string with a level on that string. You then would stick one pole in the ground and then carry the other pole along your line transect and stick it in the ground. You want a close to exact measure for how far you stuck each pole in the ground and make them even. You then make sure the level was reading even and observe the difference of measurement each stick was at the mark of string.
           The following insert is a Distance Vs. Elevation chart recreated from data given to me by Dr. Rood. This is what the data from the elevation transect would be used to create.