Ventilation and gas exchange before and after voluntary static surface breath-holds in clinically healthy bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus

We measured respiratory flow (V̇), breathing frequency (fR), tidal volume (VT), breath durations, and end-expired O2 content in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) before and after static surface breath-holds ranging from 34 to 292 s. There was considerable variation in the end-expired O2, tidal volume VT, and fR following a breath-hold. The analysis suggests that the dolphins attempt to minimize recovery following a dive by altering VT,...