Institute of Wildlife Conservation, College of Veterinary Medicine, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, 1, Shuehfu Rd., Neipu, Pingtung, 912, Taiwan.
Graduate Institute of Veterinary Clinical Science, National Taiwan University, 153, section 3, Keelung Rd., Taipei, 106, Taiwan.
J Wildl Dis. 2021 Apr 1;57(2):345-356. doi: 10.7589/JWD-D-20-00067.
Parasite infection is one of the most important factors in wildlife conservation. However, fecal parasite profiles of threatened Asiatic black bears (Ursus thibetanus) are only sporadically reported, and the effect of parasitic diseases on the survival of the locally endangered Formosan black bear (Ursus thibetanus formosanus) in Taiwan remains undetermined. The study objective was to investigate the gastrointestinal parasite profiles of Formosan black bears in Yushan National Park, the only known high-density habitat for the species in Taiwan. Bear fecal samples were collected in the acorn season (from October to February) from January 2008 to October 2012. To avoid bias created by repeat sampling, the parasite profiles of fecal samples collected in 2010 from 46 individually identified bears (which were identified by genetic analysis) were also examined. Parasites were isolated by various methods and identified by morphologic characteristics. A total of 220 samples were analyzed and the results were compared between seasons, sexes, and individuals. The overall frequency of parasite infection was 77.3%, and it varied by species, with Baylisascaris transfuga infection being the most frequent. We suggest that one factor underlying the high frequency and high intensity of infection that we observed is the fact that the bears seasonally congregated at high density in a small area. To our knowledge, this is the first thorough study of gastrointestinal parasites in Asiatic black bears. The long-term nature of the investigation and the relatively stable frequency and intensity of infection suggest that parasitic diseases could serve as bioindicators of ecosystem health.
寄生虫感染是野生动物保护中最重要的因素之一。然而，受威胁的亚洲黑熊（Ursus thibetanus）的粪便寄生虫图谱仅零星报道，寄生虫病对台湾特有亚种台湾黑熊（Ursus thibetanus formosanus）生存的影响仍不确定。本研究旨在调查台湾玉山国家公园内台湾黑熊的胃肠道寄生虫图谱，该公园是该物种在台湾唯一已知的高密度栖息地。在 2008 年 1 月至 2012 年 10 月期间，在橡果季节（10 月至 2 月）采集了熊粪便样本。为了避免因重复采样而产生的偏差，还检查了 2010 年从 46 只单独识别的熊（通过遗传分析识别）采集的粪便样本的寄生虫图谱。寄生虫通过各种方法分离，并通过形态特征鉴定。共分析了 220 个样本，并比较了季节、性别和个体之间的结果。寄生虫感染的总频率为 77.3%，因物种而异，感染率最高的是 Baylisascaris transfuga。我们认为，我们观察到的高感染频率和强度的一个因素是熊在小区域内季节性聚集在高密度的事实。据我们所知，这是对亚洲黑熊胃肠道寄生虫的首次全面研究。调查的长期性以及感染频率和强度的相对稳定性表明，寄生虫病可以作为生态系统健康的生物指标。
