Investigating the mystery of the ‘bio-duck’ 

Since the 1960s, a strange, repetitious quacking noise has been frequently heard in the Southern Ocean. Dubbed the ‘bio-duck’, it’s been puzzling marine biologists and underwater acoustic experts for decades.

The sound was first recorded in the early 1980s in the South Fiji Basi – four bursts of quack-like noises which scientists had also reported in the waters around New Zealand and Australia.

Ross Chapman from the University of Victoria is an expert in underwater acoustics and wants to understand the biological function of the sound. He and his team have recorded these sounds using an acoustic antenna, an array of hydrophones towed behind a ship.

This whales species’ songs are among the last to be decoded by scientists

While scientists have yet to directly observe a minke whale producing these sounds in real time it’s thought likely that Antarctic minke whales are responsible for the sound. Minke whales, a kind of baleen whale, are difficult to study because they prefer icy waters, not easily accessible by ships. As a result, this whales species’ songs are among the last to be decoded by scientists.

This is the first evidence that these ‘bio-duck’ sounds could be a conversation among a species of whale.

Chapman says, “We’ve discovered that there [are] usually several different speakers at different places in the ocean, and all of them making these sounds. The most amazing thing [is] that when one speaker was talking, the others were quiet, as though they were listening. Then the first speaker would stop talking and listen to responses from others.” This is the first evidence that these ‘bio-duck’ sounds could be a conversation among a species of whale.

In the meantime scientists will continue to search for the evidence – a direct observation of a minke whale – or some other marine animal – producing these sounds in real time.

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