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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.

Predictable sources of food underpin lifetime reproductive output in long lived animals. The most important foraging areas of top marine predators are therefore likely to be related to environmental features that enhance productivity in predictable spatial and temporal patterns. Even so, although productive areas within the marine environment are distributed patchily in space and time, most studies assess the relationships between feeding activity and proximate, not long term, environmental characteristics. In addition, individuals within a population may exploit different prey types, and these are often associated with different hydrographic features. Until now, models attempting to associate core foraging areas (CFAs) of marine predators with the environmental characteristics of those areas have not considered the diet of individual animals, despite the influence this could have on these relationships. We used bathymetry and multi-year (n=24) mean sea surface temperature and variability as predictors of CFAs of lactating Antarctic fur seals Arctocephalus gazella at Heard Island. The effect of prey types on the predictability of these models was explored by matching diet and foraging trip data of individual seals (n=40 seals, n=1 trip each). Differences in diet between seals were mirrored by their spatial behaviour. Foraging strategies differed both between and within groups of seals consuming different diets. Long-term environmental parameters were useful for predicting the foraging activity of seals that consumed a single prey type with relatively specific habitat preferences, but not for those that consumed single or multiple prey types associated with more varied habitats. Ignoring individual variation in predator diet probably contributes to the poor performance of foraging habitat models. These findings highlight the importance of incorporating individual specialization in foraging behaviour into ecological models and management of predator populations.

The first standardised summer aerial survey of dugongs within Shark Bay in Western Australia, and the fourth in a series of surveys of this area, was undertaken during February 2002. This survey returned a population estimate of 11021 ± 1357 (s.e.), a result similar to the first two winter surveys in 1989 and 1994 but considerably lower than the 1999 survey. Distribution was markedly different in this survey compared with all previous surveys, which were conducted during winter, confirming that dugongs within Shark Bay undertake a seasonal migration driven by changes in sea surface temperature. In addition to this distribution pattern it was identified that 24% of the population during summer occurred within an area known as Henri Freycinet Harbour. That is, while dugongs have been reported in this south-western region of the bay previously in summer, this is the first time that the substantial size (2629 ± 780, s.e.) of the summer dugong population has been quantified. Differences in the population estimate between the 1999 survey and this survey may be explained through large-scale movement patterns of dugongs between Shark Bay and Ningaloo Reef and Exmouth Gulf to the north, patterns that should be considered in the management of dugongs for the entire region.

1.Foraging behaviours of the Australian sea lion (Neophoca cinerea) reflect an animal working hard to exploit benthic habitats. Lactating females demonstrate almost continuous diving, maximize bottom time, exhibit elevated field metabolism and frequently exceed their calculated aerobic dive limit. Given that larger animals have disproportionately greater diving capabilities, we wanted to examine how pups and juveniles forage successfully. 2.Time/depth recorders were deployed on pups, juveniles and adult females at Seal Bay Conservation Park, Kangaroo Island, South Australia. Ten different mother/pup pairs were equipped at three stages of development (6, 15 and 23 months) to record the diving behaviours of 51 (nine instruments failed) animals. 3. Dive depth and duration increased with age. However, development was slow. At 6 months, pups demonstrated minimal diving activity and the mean depth for 23-month-old juveniles was only 44 ± 4 m, or 62% of adult mean depth. 4. Although pups and juveniles did not reach adult depths or durations, dive records for young sea lions indicate benthic diving with mean bottom times (2·0 ± 0·2 min) similar to those of females (2·1 ± 0·2 min). This was accomplished by spending higher proportions of each dive and total time at sea on or near the bottom than adults. Immature sea lions also spent a higher percentage of time at sea diving. 5. Juveniles may have to work harder because they are weaned before reaching full diving capability. For benthic foragers, reduced diving ability limits available foraging habitat. Furthermore, as juveniles appear to operate close to their physiological maximum, they would have a difficult time increasing foraging effort in response to reductions in prey. Although benthic prey are less influenced by seasonal fluctuations and oceanographic perturbations than epipelagic prey, demersal fishery trawl

The breeding biology of the Australian sea lion was investigated throughout its geographic range between December 1987 and February 1992. Sea lions breed on at least 51 islands, 28 in Western Australia and 23 in South Australia. Thirty one of these islands had not been previously reported as sea lion breeding sites. A predictive model is developed to estimate the population size from pup production estimates from these locations. It indicates that pup numbers should be multiplied by between 3.81 and 4.81 to estimate the total population size just before the pupping season begins. Pup production was estimated at 2,432 which led to a total population estimate of 9,300-11,700, considerably greater than earlier estimates. Approximately half of the pup production occurs on five colonies near Kangaroo Island, South Australia. An unusual breeding cycle of 17-18 months has been reported for N. cinerea at Kangaroo Island; this study reports for the first time this unusual breeding cycle on islands throughout this species’ range. No evidence was found for breeding seasons shorter or longer than 17-18 months. The breeding season is not synchronised between islands, as it is in other pinnipeds, and the timing of breeding appeared random between sites. Investigations of the reproductive physiology of this species conducted on Kangaroo Island, South Australia, revealed a 4-5 month embryonic diapause and an 11-12 month placental gestation. This unusually long placental gestation was not associated with the production of a precocious pup, but rather, I hypothesise in this study that foetal growth rate is retarded. Because of the non-seasonal, asynchronous reproductive cycle of N. cinerea the present results indicate that cues for the physiological events of gestation must be endogenous, rather than the exogenous cues hypothesised for other pinnipeds. Throughout the lactation that accompanies gestation, N. cinerea produces milk that is lower in fat (energy) than all but the tropical