Pulmonary function evaluation during normal ventilation in both captive and wild bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus).

In this work, pulmonary functions of eight adult bottlenose dolphins (T. truncatus) during normal ventilation have been evaluated (maximal chuff events have not been included). Breath duration, respiratory flow rate, tidal volume and frequency have been measured, data collection involved both male and female dolphins and both captive and wild animals. It came to light that these animals are capable of 5.19 L (maximum recorded 13.11 L) of tidal volume gas exchange during normal ventilation, with an average respiratory frequency of 3.39 breaths*min−1 (range between 2.12-4.65 breaths*min−1, minimum recorded 0,79 breaths*min−1). They are capable of generating great flow too, especially during expiration (23.73±15.41 L*s−1, max recorded 134.14 L*s-1). With this work I provided new data for respiratory physiology of bottlenose dolphin and I looked for differences between wild and captive animals. However, despite the interesting findings obtained, which show a statistical difference between the two groups, I am not going to draw any concrete conclusion, although some differences in tidal volume and flow rate can be related to size and subspecies.