{"title":"Parasites of five vagrant Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) swimming to Iceland during 2008 to 2016","authors":"K. Skírnisson, D. Jouet","doi":"10.16886/ias.2023.02","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"During 2008 to 2016, five polar bears (Ursus maritimus) swam from the East Greenland population to Iceland and were shot soon after walking ashore. Each bear was dissected. Ectoparasites were searched for in their ears and fur, helminths in the gastrointestinal tract and Trichinella larvae in muscles. Protozoan cysts, oocysts and helminth eggs were also searched for in faecal samples. No ectoparasites were detected. Two bears (40%) hosted fourth stage larvae of the nematode Contracaecum osculatum (strain B) in the stomach. Characteristic scars, noted as craters in the rectum wall, indicated previous acanthocephalan infection in one bear. Three polar bears were infected by the nematode Trichinella nativa. No protozoan parasites were detected in faecal samples, but cysts of the heterokontophyte Blastocystis sp. were found in faeces of two bears (40%). This is the first report of C. osculatum, Blastocystis sp. and an acanthocephalan infection in free-living polar bears. Keywords: Iceland, parasites, Ursus maritimus, polar bear, vagrant, new host records","PeriodicalId":50396,"journal":{"name":"Icelandic Agricultural Sciences","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2000,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Icelandic Agricultural Sciences","FirstCategoryId":"97","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.16886/ias.2023.02","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"AGRICULTURE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
During 2008 to 2016, five polar bears (Ursus maritimus) swam from the East Greenland population to Iceland and were shot soon after walking ashore. Each bear was dissected. Ectoparasites were searched for in their ears and fur, helminths in the gastrointestinal tract and Trichinella larvae in muscles. Protozoan cysts, oocysts and helminth eggs were also searched for in faecal samples. No ectoparasites were detected. Two bears (40%) hosted fourth stage larvae of the nematode Contracaecum osculatum (strain B) in the stomach. Characteristic scars, noted as craters in the rectum wall, indicated previous acanthocephalan infection in one bear. Three polar bears were infected by the nematode Trichinella nativa. No protozoan parasites were detected in faecal samples, but cysts of the heterokontophyte Blastocystis sp. were found in faeces of two bears (40%). This is the first report of C. osculatum, Blastocystis sp. and an acanthocephalan infection in free-living polar bears. Keywords: Iceland, parasites, Ursus maritimus, polar bear, vagrant, new host records
期刊介绍:
Icelandic Agricultural Sciences is published annually, or more frequently. The deadline for submitting manuscripts that are intended to appear within that year is September. The journal is in English and is refereed and distributed internationally. It publishes original articles and reviews written by researchers throughout the world on any aspect of applied life sciences that are relevant under boreal, alpine, arctic or subarctic conditions. Relevant subjects include e.g. any kind of environmental research, farming, breeding and diseases of plants and animals, hunting and fisheries, food science, forestry, soil conservation, ecology of managed and natural ecosystems, geothermal ecology, etc.