Gestational variation in blood profiles of failed common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) pregnancies

Reproductive success is a critical component of the care of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in managed care facilities and is vital in sustaining free-ranging dolphin populations. Despite well-established breeding programs with high reproductive success rates, pregnancy failures still occur in managed care just as they do in free ranging dolphin populations. Normal reference ranges for biochemistry and hematology variations during each stage of gestation during bottlenose dolphin pregnancy have been established. Subsequently, alterations in blood parameters were evaluated retrospectively on failed pregnancies, to assess which biomarkers could be measured as potential indicators of early pregnancy abnormalities. This dataset contains 263 archived blood samples from 1989-2017 from 21 failed pregnancies in 16 managed care dolphins. Identifying subtle changes allows earlier detection, diagnosis and treatment of maternal or fetal abnormalities to improve survivability and achieve a positive pregnancy outcome.