The highlighted section is a rough estimate of the area the class explored in and around the river. The green line is the path the majority of the class took across the water from one riverbed to the other. The blue pins are the locations from which we took samples of the clam population.
Since the water level was much lower than is shown in this image, we used these samples to compare the habitat the clams prefer. In the first sample, we sifted through sand shoveled onto a metal screen from deeper water than we did in the second sample. The second sample consisted of sand shoveled from a shallower section of the river. Even though we dug deep enough into the shallow sand to get to wet sand, we found a significantly lower population in the shallow water.
The following graph is a representation of the Ocmulgee River's elevation along a transect similar to the path our class took which is highlighted in the above image by the green line. Elevation is measured by using two labeled poles, a string, and a line level to measure the decrease or increase in elevation.
We also measured the flow rate in the river by measuring the distance between two points, placing a floating object at the upriver point, and recording the time it takes for the object to get to the downriver point.
