Morphological and Molecular Insights into the Biodiversity of Gastrointestinal Parasites from Canadian Grizzly (Ursus arctos horribilis) and Black Bears (Ursus americanus)

Classical and molecular parasitology are powerful tools for clinical diagnostics, for disease transmission surveys, and for designing strategies to control infections and outbreaks. Parasite communities have been demonstrated to strongly affect host population dynamics and viability. The absence of baseline data, and the potential detrimental effects on host health, supported the investigation of the gastrointestinal parasite fauna of free-living grizzlies (Ursus arctos horribilis) and black bears (Ursus americanus) from Alberta and British Columbia, Canada. The study provided new insights into parasite biodiversity and infection patterns in Canadian bears. For the first time, the cestode species Diphyllobothrium dendtriticum, Diphyllobothrium nihonkaiense, and Taenia arctos have been unequivocally identified in North American bears. The present research also elucidated the systematics of the ursine hookworm species Uncinaria rauschi and Uncinaria yukonensis, determining their place within the family Ancylostomatidae.