Publications

This page gives references to relevant published work on Caspian seals by the present Darwin or CISS teams or their colleagues in earlier projects. The references are given in approximate chronological order.

The most recent paper describing Caspian seal pup production in 2005 and 2006

Härkönen, T., Jüssi, M., Baimukanov, M., Bignert, A. Dmitrieva, L., Kasimbekov, Y., Verevkin, M., Wilson, S. and Goodman, S. 2008. Pup production and breeding distribution of the Caspian seal (Phoca caspica) in relation to human impacts. Ambio 37:356-361

The following group of publications arose from the initial sampling by the international teams in 1996 and 1996 of dead Caspian seals on the Apsheron peninsula in Azerbaijan.

The following two papers were published in Caspian Environment Program – Proceedings from the first Bio-Network Workshop, Bordeaux, November 1997. World Bank, Eds. H. Dumont, S. Wilson & B. Wazniewicz.

Eybatov, T.M. 1997. Caspian seal mortality in Azerbaijan (pp. 95–100).

Allchin, C., Barrett, T., Duck, C., Eybatov, T., Forsyth, M. Kennedy, S. & Wilson, S. 1997. Surveys of Caspian seals in the Apsheron Peninsula region and residue and pathology analyses of dead seal tissues (pp. 101–118).

The following two papers were subsequently published in Scientific journals.

Forsyth, M., Kennedy, S., Wilson, S., Eybatov, T., Barrett, T., 1998. Canine distemper virus in a Caspian seal. Veterinary Record 143, 662–664.
http://veterinaryrecord.bvapublications.com/cgi/reprint/143/24/662

Hall, A.J., Duck, C.D., Law, R.J., Allchin, C.R., Wilson, S., Eybatov, T., 1999. Organochlorine contaminants in Caspian and harbour seal blubber. Environmental Pollution 106, 203–212.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleListURL&_method=list&_ArticleListID=549258039

The next paper was a formal announcement of the anticipated, invasion of the Caspian from the Black Sea by the comb jelly Mnemiopsis leidyi.

Ivanov, V.P., Kamakin, A.M., Ushivstsov, V.B., Shiganova, T., Zhukova, O., Aladin, N., Wilson, S.C., Harbison, R. & Dumont, H.J. 2000. Invasion of the Caspian Sea by the comb jellyfish Mnemiopsis leidyi (Ctenophora). Biological Invasions 2, 255–258.
http://www.springerlink.com/content/l6h2r4w057702850/?p=3e0a1449023a4287813a6ad4fba2b441π=5

The next group of papers arose from the World Bank’s ECOTOX study. The field work for ECOTOX started in 2000, with an investigation of the mass mortality beginning in the spring of that year. The project finished in March 2002. The ECOTOX project Final Report, which includes contaminant analyses in Caspian sediments, bony fish and sturgeon as well as seals, may be downloaded from www.caspianenvironment.org

Kennedy, S., Kuiken, T., Jepson, P.D., Deaville, R., Forsyth, M., Barrett, T., van de Bildt, M.W.G., Osterhaus, A.M.D.E., Eybatov, T., Duck, C., Kydyrmanov, A., Mitrofanov, I., Wilson, S., 2000. Mass die-off of Caspian seals caused by canine distemper virus. Emerging Infectious Diseases 6, 637–639.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol6no6/kennedy.htm (this link goes to full text of paper)

Kajiwara, N., Niimi, S., Watanabe, M., Ito, Y., Takahashi, S., Tanabe, S., Khuraskin, L.S., Miyazaki, N., 2002. Organochlorine and organotin compounds in Caspian seals (Phoca caspica) collected during an unusual mortality event in the Caspian Sea in 2000. Environmental Pollution 117, 391–402.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleListURL&_method=list&_ArticleListID=549340830

Anan, Y., Kunito, T., Ikemoto, T., Kobota, R., Watanabe, I., Tanabe, S., Miyazaki, N. & Petrov, E.A. 2002. Elevated concentrations of trace elements in Caspian seals (Phoca caspica) found stranded during the mass mortality events in 2000. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 42, 354–362.
http://www.springerlink.com/content/8838cfuf3ql1/?p=3444d83fcfc346e6bf0c1989c2b61a8aπ=39

Collins, M.D., Hoyles, L., Foster, G. & Falsen, E. 2004. Corynebacterium caspium sp.nov., from a Caspian seal (Phoca caspica). International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, 54: 925–928.
http://ijs.sgmjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/54/3/925

Kuiken, T., Kennedy, S., Barrett, T., Borgsteede, F., Deaville, R., Duck, C., Eybatov, T., Forsyth, M., Foster, G., Jepson, P., Kydyrmanov, A., Mitrofanov, I., van de Bildt, M., Ward, C., Wilson, S., Osterhaus, A.D.M.E., 2006. The 2000 canine distemper epidemic in Caspian seals (Phoca caspica): pathology and analysis of contributory factors. Veterinary Pathology, 43: 321–338.
http://www.vetpathology.org/cgi/search?fulltext=Kuiken&sendit=Enter&volume=43&issue=3&journalcode=vetpath

Eybatov, T.M., Asadi, H., Bosaret, G., Kennedy, S., Van de Bildt, M. & Wilson, S.C. Patterns of mortality in the Caspian seal. Manuscript in preparation.

The first CISS population survey on the winter ice-field in February 2005 was submitted to Caspian Environment Programme and presented to the Caspian BISRAG meeting in April 2005. This report, together with appendices including the first draft of the seal conservation action plan (SCAMP) comments from the meeting. This report is available on the CEP website. The reports for 2006 and 2007 are not yet available on websites.

Härkönen, T., Jüssi, M., Baimukanov, M., Dmitrieva, L., Kasimbekov, Y., Verevkin, M., Wilson, S.C. & Goodman, S.J. 2005. Population size and density distribution of the Caspian seal (Phoca caspica) on the winter ice field in Kazakh waters, 2005.Final report prepared for the Caspian Environment Programme, June, 2005. www.caspianenvironment.org

The Darwin seal project began with a report being submitted to CEP for initial studies undertaken between September and December 2006.

Goodman, S. & Wilson, S. 2006. The start of a new programme for assessing the distribution, habitat and health status of Caspian seals (Phoca caspica). Caspian International Seal Survey (CISS) Report prepared under contract to CEP, December 2006

Appendix 1. H. Asadi and L. Shamimi. Awareness raising among fishermen and game wardens on the conservation of Caspian Seal in three provinces of Caspian coast in Iran

Appendix 2. A. Kydyrmanov and K. Karamendin. Preliminary Report
Of live and dead seal monitoring in certain islands in Kazakh part of Caspian Sea in the fall of 2006