Marine Wildlife Behavior Database
Metadata

Section 8: Dive Angle
This section includes fields that describe the angle at which the animal(s) dive. Note that this section refers to the descent phase of a dive; the following section (Surfacing Angle) corresponds to the ascent phase of the dive.

Fields:

• Minimum Dive Angle
  DA_MinDiveAngle(deg): The minimum angle at which the animal(s) descend (degrees).
  
  
• Maximum Dive Angle
  DA_MaxDiveAngle(deg): The maximum angle at which the animal(s) descend (degrees).
  
  
• Mean Dive Angle
  DA_MeanDiveAngle(deg): The mean or average angle at which the animal(s) descend (degrees).
  
  
• Median Dive Angle
  DA_MedianDiveAngle(deg): The middle value in the distribution of the dive angles (degrees). If there is an even number of dive angle values, it is the average of the two middle values.
  
  
• Mode Dive Angle
  DA_ModeDiveAngle(deg): The most common dive angle value; in the frequency distribution, the dive angle with the greatest number of frequencies (degrees).
  
  
• Gamma Distribution Alpha
  DA_GammaDistAlpha: The shape parameter of the gamma distribution of dive angles, determined by submitting data and fitting the raw data in a statistical package.
  
  
• Gamma Distribution Beta
  DA_GammaDistBeta: The rate parameter, equal to 1/Θ (the scale parameter), of the gamma distribution of dive angles, determined by submitting data and fitting the raw data in a statistical package.
  
  
• Dive Angle Standard Deviation
  DA_DiveAngleStdDev: To express the degree of dispersion in the dive angle data, the standard deviation (square root of the variance) should be entered (degrees).
  
  
• Comments
  DA_Comments: Free-form field to note complications with data entry, information to review at a later date, etc.