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In the 1960s submarine teams in the Southern Ocean first heard.
二十世紀六十年代在南大洋的潛艇隊首次探測到這樣的奇怪聲音。
The sound reminded the submariners of a duck.
潛艇人員感覺這種聲音像是鴨子叫。
So they dubbed the mysterious sound the bio-duck.
因此他們將這一奇怪的聲音稱作仿生鴨子。
Since then, scientists have frequently recorded the bio-duck sound in Antarctic waters.
從那時候開始，科學家們在南極地區水域常會探測并記錄到這種仿生鴨子的叫聲。
But its source remained unknown. Until now.
但是聲音的來源一直還是個謎。直到最近謎底終于揭開。
In 2013 researchers attached sensors to two Antarctic minke whales.
2013年，科學家們在兩頭南極小須鯨身上安裝了傳感器。
The tags could track depth and location—and also record vocalizations.
這種標記可以追蹤它們所處的位置和深度—當然也可以記錄發出的聲音。
Over a combined total of 26 hours, 32 calls were captured—including some low-pitched pulses.
總計超過26小時的記錄時間內，一共收到32個聲音文件—包括了一些低頻聲波脈沖信號。
Some of which matched recordings made nearby of the bio-duck sound.
其中有些與在附近水域內這種仿生鴨子的叫聲音十分吻合。
The minke whale is thus revealed to be the source of the decades-old unidentified bio-duckitude.
因此近20多年來一直不確定來源的這些類似鴨叫的聲音原來是小須鯨所發出。
The work is in the journal Biology Letters.
這一研究已在《生物學信函》雜志上發表。
Because minke whales swim in icy Antarctic waters, they're difficult to monitor, especially in winter.
因為小須鯨在冰冷的南極水域游泳，很難檢測它們的行蹤，特別是在冬季。
But by analyzing the collection of bio-duck sounds recorded over the decades, researchers may now be able to track their population size and migration patterns.
但通過分析近十幾年來收集并記錄到的類似鴨子的聲音信息，研究人員們目前能夠據此推測出它們的種群規模，數量以及遷徙活動模式。
But perhaps the bigger lesson: if it quacks like a duck...maybe it's a whale.
但或許更特別的信息是：如果有個動物的叫聲像鴨子，也許有可能不是鴨子而是一頭小須鯨呢。
