PURPOSE: Restored role of the grey wolf in ecological networks of newly recolonized areas can be studied via surveys of parasite communities of this predator. As helminths circulating in multi-host systems, the tapeworms directly reflect wolves' diet, while some species are also important from the One Health perspective. The Czech experienced centuries of wolves' absence, however, now it is situated on the crossroad of recolonising wolves' populations, which is opening questions of their role in ecological networks in this area and thus in sylvatic cycles of heteroxenous parasites. METHODS: Five wolf carcasses from this area were obtained and genetic affinity to a particular population was inspected. Tapeworms isolated from wolves' intestines during necropsies were molecularly identified based on sequences of COI marker. RESULTS: Three wolf haplotypes (w1, w2, w14) correspond with the dominance of haplogroup 1 (w1, w2) within Central European lowland population and haplogroup 2 (w14) within the Carpathian population. Two Taenia spp. were revealed: T. krabbei in Central European population wolves and T. hydatigena in an individual from Carpathian population. CONCLUSIONS: The results serve as a base for future monitoring and studies of the recolonising wolf population and its impact on ecosystems in the studied area to contribute to the hypothesis about differentiation of parasite communities in particular wolf population and higher parasite diversity and richness in established populations in comparison to newly settled ones.

Biology Centre Institute of Parasitology Czech Academy of Sciences Branišovská 31 370 05 České Budějovice Czech Republic

CEITEC VFU University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Palackého 1946 1 612 42 Brno Czech Republic

Department of Botany and Zoology Faculty of Science Masaryk University Kotlářská 2 611 37 Brno Czech Republic

Department of Pathology and Parasitology University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Palackého 1946 1 612 42 Brno Czech Republic

Department of Zoology Faculty of Science Charles University Viničná 7 128 44 Prague 2 Czech Republic

Faculty of Medicine Biomedical Center Charles University Alej Svobody 1655 76 323 00 Plzeň Czech Republic

Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences Czech University of Life Sciences Kamýcká 129 165 00 Prague Czech Republic

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