Irina Trukhanova
Selected projects and collaborations*
With the guidance by my supervisors Drs. Kristin Laidre (PSC/UW-APL) and Peter Boveng (MML), my goal is to assess the resilience of ice-associated seals to a warming climate and loss of ice in the Sea of Okhotsk.
My endeavors to study the ice-associated seal species in the Sea of Okhotsk involve abundance estimates and distribution maps, compiling extensive data from Soviet-era archives from the 1960s-1980s, and model constructs for population viability.
These elements will help provide a well-defined case study that demonstrates the uncertainties of species’ resilience to climate change due to their inability to shift ranges. The project is supported by Future of Ice Initiative (University of Washington) and Marine Mammal Laboratory (NOAA).
ASSESSING THE RESILIENCE OF ICE-ASSOCIATED SEALS TO A
WARMING CLIMATE AND LOSS OF ICE IN THE SEA OF OKHOTSK
Relevant publications:
Trukhanova I., Grachev A., Somov A., Burkanov V., Laidre K., and P. Boveng. 2017. The Commercial Harvest of Ice-associated Seals in the Sea of Okhotsk, 1972-1994. PlosONE. 12(8): e0182725.
CASPIAN INTERNATIONAL SEAL SURVEY
The Caspian seal project is a conservation initiative involving scientists from each of the five countries surrounding the Caspian together with specialists in seal science from the international community.
Relevant publications:
Wilson S.C., Dolgova E., Trukhanova I., Dmitrieva L., Crawford I., Baimukanov M. and Goodman S.J. 2017. Breeding behavior and pup development of the Caspian seal, Pusa caspica. Journal of Mammalogy, 98(1): 143–153.
Wilson S.C., Trukhanova I., Dmitrieva L., Dolgova E., Crawford I., Baimukanov M., Baimukanov T., Ismagambetov B., Pazylbekov M., Jüssi M., and Goodman S.J. 2017. Assessment of impacts and potential mitigation for icebreaking vessels transiting pupping areas of an ice-breeding seal // Biological Conservation. V. 214, October 2017. Pg.213-222. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2017.05.028
The aim of the project is to define the status of the Caspian seal population, and identify and respond to threats to the seals. In 2009 - 2014 I was taking part in the annual field expeditions in Kazakhstan carried out by the Caspian International Seal Survey and supervised by the University of Leeds, UK.
I was involved in the icebreaker component of this project, which examines industrial icebreaker traffic impact on Caspian seal breeding colonies and animal behavioral responses to disturbance. Our overall goal was to develop a set of mitigation measures for operating companies to minimize their negative impact and reduce seal mortality. Currently, we are working to disseminate the findings of this project and to apply our knowledge towards assessment of vessel operation impact on ice-associated pinnipeds in the Arctic.
MARINE CONSERVATION WITHOUT BORDERS
The program “Marine conservation without borders” was established as an international initiative developed by a group of marine conservation practitioners – Duke Global Fellows in Marine Conservation 2013 from Brazil, Albania, Russia and India. The pilot project was agreed to be held in Caravelas, Brazil with two main goals: to get familiar with Conservation International Brazil activities and share experience gained in participants' home countries with Brazilian colleagues who work with marine conservation. The program was meant to be a tool allowing marine conservationists and young scientists to seek collaborators, host organizations for events and projects, share and promote ideas, ask for assistance or professional advice, and build up new initiatives and enhance networking opportunities.
Relevant publications:
MCWB brochure can be downloaded here.
ASSESSMENT OF RINGED SEAL POPULATION STATUS AND BYCATCH IN COMMERCIAL FISHERIES IN LAKE LADOGA, NORTHWEST RUSSIA
The project idea was developed and brought to life as a part of my PhD research at St. Petersburg State University, and carried out by SPbCPO "Biologists for Nature Conservation" (Baltic Fund for Nature) with financial support received from the Marine Mammal Commission (USA). During the project we carried out Ladoga ringed seal population aerial survey for the first time in the past eleven years and spatial modeling was first applied to predict this subspecies density distribution in relation to environmental covariates as well as to estimate population size. We also considered Ladoga ringed seal-fisheries interactions and by-catch problems and worked to increase public awareness and understanding of seal mortality rates. The project results were further used for revision of subspecies conservation status on both national and international levels.
Relevant publications:
Sipilä, T. 2016. Pusa hispida ssp. ladogensis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T41674A66991648. Downloaded on 09 February 2017.
Trukhanova I.S. 2013. The Ladoga ringed seal (Pusa hispida ladogensis) under changing climate conditions // Russian Journal of Theriology. 12(1). Pg. 41-48.
Trukhanova I.S., Gurarie E., Sagitov R.A. 2013.Spring density and distribution of Ladoga ringed seals (Pusa hispida ladogensis) // Arctic. V. 66, N 4 (Dec 2013) Pg. 417-428.
HARBOUR PORPOISE RESEARCH IN THE RUSSIAN PART OF THE BALTIC SEA
This work started in 2011 with an initial goal of find out if there were any observations or recordings of harbour porpoises Phocaena phocaena phocaena made by fishermen or locals and also to try to find any remains of these animals on the Gulf of Finland islands in order to prove or disprove occurrence of this subspecies in the Russian part of the Baltic Sea. Since the results proved to be encouraging in Kaliningrad region, Baltic Fund for Nature, Shirshov Institute of Oceanography and Aquabiota were able to develop a larger-scale project RUMBAH (RUssian static acoustic Monitoring of BAltic Harbour porpoise) which allowed to involve Russia in the ongoing EU project on monitoring of porpoise population in the Baltic Sea (the project, named SAMBAH, was financed by Life+). In 2013-2014, ten passive acoustic monitoring devices (CPODs) were deployed in Kaliningrad waters. In total 2103 days of data were collected and subsequently processed to reveal harbour porpoise click detections. The data were then included to SAMBAH database.
Relevant publications:
Trukhanova, I., Carlen, I., Guschin, A., Paka, V., Wennerberg, D. & Sagitov, R. (2014): Harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena phocoena) in Russian territorial waters of the Baltic Sea. VIII International Conference Marine Mammals of the Holarctic, 24-27 September 2014, St. Petersburg, Russia.
Poster with project results can be downloaded here.
JOINT U.S.- RUSSIAN AERIAL SURVEYS FOR ICE-ASSOCIATED SEALS (AND POLAR BEAR) IN THE ARCTIC.
Since 2011 I have been collaborating with Fisheries and Fleet Research Institute (Gyprorybflot) in St. Petersburg, Russia, and scientists at NOAA's Marine Mammal Laboratory's Polar Ecosystems Program to analyze data collected during synoptic aerial surveys of ice-associated seals in the Bering and Okhotsk Seas in 2012-2013 (BOSS project). I have primarily been working on seal abundance and distribution modeling in the Russian part of the survey area to ensure compatibility of the data formats and results obtained by the U.S. and Russian teams. Collaborative project in the Bering and Okhotsk sea region was followed by a similar survey implemented in the Chukchi and East Siberian seas to collect data on ringed and bearded seal populations, as well as the polar bear (ChESS project). Currently the data collected during the flights in spring 2016 are being processed.
Relevant publications:
Chernook V.I., Grachev A.I., Vasiliev A.N., Trukhanova I.S. Burkanov V.N., Solovyev B.A. Results of instrumental aerial survey of ice-associated seals on the ice in the Okhotsk Sea in May 2013 // Izv. TINRO. 2014. Vol. 179. Pg. 158–176.
