Observations on Pregnancy, Parturition, and Postnatal Behavior in the Bottlenose Dolphin

Infant position in mother-calf dolphin pairs: formation locomotion with hydrodynamic benefits

“…Immature dolphins have lower aerobic and anaerobic capacities in the muscle (reviewed by Noren & Edwards 2007) and proportionally smaller muscle mass (reviewed by McLellan et al 2002) than adult conspecifics. At the same time, extreme skeletal and muscular flexibility (Etnier et al 2004) and floppy (hydrodynamically ineffective) dorsal fins and flukes (McBride & Kritzler 1951, Tavolga & Essapian 1957, Cockcroft & Ross 1990 compromise the swimming efficiency of newborns, while small body size throughout ontogeny limits swimming performance as swimming speed is proportionate to body size across cetaceans (Fish 1998). Underdeveloped physiology correlates with the reduced swim performance of calves <1 yr postpartum (Noren et al 2006).…”

“…This is true for cetacean calves, who have extremely limited locomotor performance (Noren et al 2006), yet at the same time must still maintain proximity to their mothers while she maneuvers within their habitat to forage and avoid predators. From the wild beluga whale Delphinapterus leucas (Krasnova et al 2006) to the Southern right whale Eubaleana australis (Taber & Thomas 1982) and captive and freeranging dolphins (McBride & Kritzler 1951, Tavolga & Essapian 1957, Norris & Prescott 1961, Au & Perryman 1982, Gubbins et al 1999, Mann & Smuts 1999, the predominant spatial states of mother-calf cetacean pairs are echelon position (calf in very close proximity to its mother's mid-lateral flank) and infant position (calf in very close positioning underneath its mother's tailstock; Fig. 1a, b) throughout the critical first year of development.…”

Ontogeny of swim performance and mechanics in bottlenose dolphins(Tursiops truncatus)

“…Combined, these factors undoubtedly limit sustainable muscular power production for fluke movements through the viscous, dense seawater. At the same time, extreme skeletal and muscular flexibility (Etnier et al, 2003) and floppy dorsal fins and flukes (McBride and Kritzler, 1951;Tavolga and Essapian, 1957;Cockcroft and Ross, 1990) can further compromise swimming efficiency during early development.…”

Hydrodynamic properties of fin whale flippers predict maximum rolling performance

“…Rolls form the basis for more complex maneuvers, such as banked turns (Schilstra and Hateren, 1999), and are used as building blocks for intricate maneuvering trajectories. Rolling performance affects many functions including reorientation of the visual field (Goldbogen et al, 2013), prey capture and feeding (Fish, 2002;Fish et al, 2007), cleaning (Limbaugh, 1961), social interactions (McBride and Kritzler, 1951) and dislodging parasites Weihs et al, 2007). Baleen whales in the family Balaenopteridae, or rorquals, frequently roll during feeding events (Goldbogen et al, 2006;Kot and Borda, 2014).…”