Pregnancy profiles in the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus): clinical biochemical and hematological variations during healthy gestation and a successful outcome

Establishing normal reference ranges for each stage of gestation during bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) pregnancy is important to understand the physiological demands of fetal and maternal basal requirements. Alterations in blood parameters have been observed to shift in both trimester and species. This dataset was compiled to conduct a retrospective analysis from 260 blood samples obtained from 42 successful pregnancies from 20 bottlenose dolphins in a managed population over 30 years. In addition 151 samples were included from the same individuals, but in non-pregnant states, to provide a control group for comparison with the gestational samples. Establishing normal reference ranges for each trimester will enable future identification of abnormalities occurring during pregnancy and help improve our understanding of factors potentially influencing a failed or successful pregnancy outcome.