| Summary: | Parasitic diseases have become a scientific priority, since they can pose not only a threat to humans and domestic animals, but also to wildlife, especially when concerning endangered species. As an apex predator and classified has “Endangered” in Portugal, the Iberian wolf (Canis lupus signatus) has na important role in modeling trophic interactions, contributing to biodiversity maintenance and ecosystem functioning. However, its spotlight position in the food web may also have counterparts, namely contributing to disease spread. In Montesinho Natural Park (MNP), northeast Portugal, the Iberian wolf shares its habitat with three wild ungulate species: red deer (Cervus elaphus), roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) and wild boar (Sus scrofa). Considering this scenario, there is a potential risk of parasite cross-transmission between the Iberian wolf and wild ungulate species, and so, in order to acknowledged this potential risk, between September 2017 and August 2018, a total of 162 fresh faecal samples were collected from both Iberian wolf (n=50) and wild ungulates (n=112). Iberian wolf scats submitted to diet analysis have confirmed high predation upon wild ungulates (88%), where wild boar was the most consumed prey (32%), followed by red and roe deer (28%, both), with low livestock consumption (6%). Coprological analysis of wild ungulates and Iberian wolf samples, showed a high parasite prevalence among wild ungulates samples (78.6%), coupled with high parasite diversity (e.g. Muellerius sp., Trichostrongylidae, Strongylidae, Metastrongylus sp., Moniezia benedeni, Eimeria spp., Cystosisospora sp. and Balantidium coli), representing not only a health risk for livestock, but also a significant public health risk. On the other hand, the low parasite prevalence found on the Iberian wolf samples (15.5%), although being pathogenic to humans and other wild and domestic animals, does not represent a major threat to this Iberian wolf population. The molecular analysis of parasites enhancing a direct trophic transmission or ...
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