1. (mL O2/kg)

5. Dwarf sperm whale
Bottlenose dolphin
Piscitelli et al. (2010)

6. Pinnipeds
Otariids
Short duration divers
Phocids
Elite divers
Low
High

7. Pinnipeds Otariids Short duration divers Phocids Elite divers
3.0 g myoglobin/100 g muscle
4 - 5 g myoglobin/100 g muscle

8. Cetaceans
Vaquita
~ 4 feet long
Blue whale
100 feet long

9. Northern Right Whale Dolphin
Odontocetes
Northern Right Whale Dolphin
Dives for ~ 6.5 minutes
2.0 g myoglobin/100 g muscle
Narwhal
Dives for ~ 25 minutes
8.0 g myoglobin/100 g muscle

10. Mysticetes Sei whale Dives for 5 - 20 minutes
0.9 g myoglobin/100 g muscle
Bowhead
Dives for over an hour
3.5 g myoglobin/100 g muscle

11. (mL O2/kg)

12. Kooyman (1989)

13. Highly active, Deep diver 143 ml blood/kg body mass
Dall’s porpoise
Highly active, Deep diver
143 ml blood/kg body mass
Highest hemoglobin concentration
Pacific white-sided dolphin
Intermediately active
108 ml blood/kg body mass
Intermediate hemoglobin concentration
Bottlenose dolphin
Coastal dwelling, sedentary
71 ml blood/kg body mass
Lowest hemoglobin concentration
Ridgway and Johnson (1966)

14. Moderate divers
Humans, sea otters, northern
fur seals, and bottlenose dolphins
14 – 17 g/100 ml blood
Deeper divers
Harbor seals, elephant seals, Weddell
seals, Dall’s porpoise, and beluga whales
21-25 g/100 ml blood

15. Weddell seals Large spleen Contracts during dive
Increases red blood cells in blood
Hurford et al. (1996)

16. Dive Response