Marine Wildlife Behavior Database
Metadata

Section 3: Dive Depth
This section includes fields that describe the depths to which the subject animal(s) dove during the study. The dives in this section are true dives as defined by log survivorship analysis. The alpha and beta parameters of the gamma distribution are determined by fitting the raw data in a statistical package.

Fields:

• Minimum Dive Depth
  DD_MinDiveDepth(m): The shallowest true dive recorded for the subject, not including any surface dives (meters).
  
  
• Maximum Dive Depth
  DD_MaxDiveDepth(m): The deepest true dive recorded for the subject (meters).
  
  
• Mean Dive Depth
  DD_MeanDiveDepth(m): The mean or average depth of all of the true dives of the subject animal (meters).
  
  
• Median Dive Depth
  DD_MediaDiveDepth(m): The middle value in the distribution of the dive depths (meters). If there is an even number of dive depths, it is the average of the two middle values.
  
  
• Mode Dive Depth
  DD_ModeDiveDepth(m): The dive depth to which the animal dove the most; in the frequency distribution, the depth with the greatest number of frequencies (meters).
  
  
• Gamma Distribution Alpha
  DD_GammaDistAlpha: The shape parameter of the gamma distribution of dive depths, determined by submitting data and fitting the raw data in a statistical package.
  
  
• Gamma Distribution Beta
  DD_GammaDistBeta: The rate parameter, equal to 1/Θ (the scale parameter), of the gamma distribution of dive depths, determined by submitting data and fitting the raw data in a statistical package.
  
  
• Dive Depth Standard Deviation
  DD_DiveDepthStdDev: To express the degree of dispersion in the dive depth data, the standard deviation (square root of the variance) should be entered (meters).
  
  
• Comments
  DD_Comments: Free form field to note complications with data entry, information to review at a later date, etc.