Abstract
For decades, the bio-duck sound has been recorded in the Southern Ocean, but the animal producing it has remained a mystery. Heard mainly during austral winter in the Southern Ocean, this ubiquitous sound has been recorded in Antarctic waters and contemporaneously off the Australian west coast. Here, we present conclusive evidence that the bio-duck sound is produced by Antarctic minke whales (Balaenoptera bonaerensis). We analysed data from multi-sensor acoustic recording tags that included intense bio-duck sounds as well as singular downsweeps that have previously been attributed to this species. This finding allows the interpretation of a wealth of long-term acoustic recordings for this previously acoustically concealed species, which will improve our understanding of the distribution, abundance and behaviour of Antarctic minke whales. This is critical information for a species that inhabits a difficult to access sea-ice environment that is changing rapidly in some regions and has been the subject of contentious lethal sampling efforts and ongoing international legal action.
Highlights
The bio-duck sound has been recorded ubiquitously in the Southern Ocean by researchers for over five decades
This finding allows the interpretation of a wealth of long-term acoustic recordings for this previously acoustically concealed species, which will improve our understanding of the distribution, abundance and behaviour of Antarctic minke whales
Our results solve the mystery around the source of the bio-duck sound, which is one of the most prevalent sounds in the Southern Ocean during austral winter and can be attributed unequivocally to the Antarctic minke whale
Summary
The bio-duck sound has been recorded ubiquitously in the Southern Ocean by researchers for over five decades. First described and named by submarine personnel in the 1960s, the bio-duck has since been recorded at various locations in the Southern Ocean, but its source remained a mystery [1,2,3,4,5,6]. The bio-duck occurs simultaneously in the eastern Weddell Sea and off Western Australia, indicating a very widespread distribution of the species, or potentially a seasonal migration by one segment of the population and year-round presence in Antarctic waters by another [3,6]
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