Dolphin power: estimating center of mass power during a controlled swimming task

An understanding of mechanical work and power during swimming is critical for determining the physiological (and thus behavioral) envelope of bottlenose dolphins. Building on previous work, we present center of mass (COM) estimates of power during a controlled swimming task. These estimates make use of a custom sensor package for measurement of animal kinematics. Importantly, we were able to use data collect from six animals during more than 17 kilometers of swimming for the estimates presented here.