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In January 2024 Serita van der Wal successfully defended her PhD thesis.

My research interests involve the biodiversity, systematics, ecology and development of marine parasitic isopods. I graduated with my master’s degree from the Water Research Group, at the North-West University in South Africa. My M.Sc research project involved the biodiversity, systematics and ecology of branchial cavity inhabiting, marine fish parasitic isopods (Cymothoidae) from southern Africa.

I am currently pursuing my PhD degree at LMU Munich, with the financial aid of a DAAD Doctoral Programme Research Grant. My project at the Graduate School of Life Sciences focusses on the evolution of parasitism using isopod crustaceans as an example with the general approach of reconstructing the evolutionary history of parasitic isopods. It is important to understand the evolution and development of parasitism in order to answer questions regarding the effects that they have on their hosts. Their relatively large size, accessibility and lifestyle make parasitic isopods the perfect experimental group. The aim of my project will be to reconstruct the evolutionary history including modern-day as well as fossil material.

van der Wal, S. & Haug, J.T. 2023. Reconstructing the life cycle of the isopodan group Aegidae with morphological descriptions and the importance of immature stages. Nauplius 31, e2023007. Free access PDF

Haug, G.T., Haug, C., van der Wal, S., Müller, P. & Haug, J.T. 2022. Split-footed lacewings declined over time: indications from the morphological diversity of their antlion-like larvae. PalZ 96, 29–50. Free access PDF Supplement 1 Supplement 2 Supplement 3

Haug, J.T., van der Wal, S., Gröhn, C., Hoffeins, C., Hoffeins, H.-W. & Haug, C. 2022. Diversity and fossil record of larvae of three groups of lacewings with unusual ecology and functional morphology: Ithonidae, Coniopterygidae and Sisyridae. Palaeontologia Electronica 25, a14. Free access PDF Supplement

Haug, C., Haug, G. T., Zippel, A., van der Wal, S. & Haug, J. T. 2021. The earliest record of fossil solid-wood-borer larvae—immature beetles in 99 million-year-old Myanmar amber. Palaeoentomology 004, 390–404. Free access PDF Suppl Tab 1 Suppl Text 1 Suppl Fig 1 Suppl File 1 Suppl File 2 Suppl File 3 Suppl File 4 Suppl File 5 Suppl File 6

Haug, J.T., Haug, G.T., Zippel, A., van der Wal, S., Müller, P., Gröhn, C., Wunderlich, J., Hoffeins, C., Hoffeins, H.-W. & Haug, C. 2021. Changes in the morphological diversity of larvae of lance lacewings, mantis lacewings and their closer relatives over 100 million years. Insects 12, art. 860. Free access PDF Suppl incl high-res figs

van der Wal, S., Schädel, M., Ekrt, B. & Haug, J.T. 2021. Description and ontogeny of a 40-million-year-old parasitic isopodan crustacean: Parvucymoides dvorakorum gen. et sp. nov.. PeerJ 9, e12317. Free access PDF Supplement

van der Wal, S. & Haug, J. T. 2020. Shape of attachment structures in parasitic isopodan crustaceans: the influence of attachment site and ontogeny. PeerJ 8, e9181. Free access PDF Suppl.

Schädel, M., Pazinato, P. G., van der Wal, S. & Haug, J. T. 2019. A fossil tanaidacean crustacean from the Middle Jurassic of southern Germany. Palaeodiversity 12, 13–30. Free access PDF

van der Wal, S. & Haug, J. T. 2019. Letter to the editor referencing “The apparent kleptoparasitism in fish-parasitic gnathiid isopods” 10.1007/s00436-018-6152-8. Parasitology Research 118, 1679–1682. DOI 10.1007/s00436-019-06281-2

van der Wal, S., Smit N.J. & Hadfield, K. A. 2019. Review of the fish parasitic genus Elthusa Schioedte & Meinert, 1884 (Crustacea, Isopoda, Cymothoidae) from South Africa, including the description of three new species. ZooKeys 841, 1–37.

van der Wal, S., Smit N.J. & Hadfield, K. A. 2017. Redescription and molecular characterisation of the fish parasitic isopod Norileca indica (Milne Edwards, 1840) (Crustacea: Isopoda: Cymothoidae), including a key
to all species in the genus. African Zoology 52(3), 163–175.

Posters:

Krämer, P., Braig, F., Gauweiler, J., Haase, I., Harhoff, A., Heimerl, D., Huber, S., Schächinger, P., Hörnig, M. K., Schädel, M., van der Wal, S., Wagner, P., Haug, C. & Haug, J. T. 2019. Vier Augen sehen mehr als zwei, oder: Mehr Augen sehen noch mehr – Studentische Exkursion in museale Sammlungen. 19. Crustaceologentagung, München, 28.03.–31.03.2019.

Usimesa Wingi, N., Schädel, M., van der Wal, S. & Haug, J. T. 2019. Morphological changes during the ontogeny of parasitic representatives of Isopoda. 19. Crustaceologentagung, München, 28.03.–31.03.2019.

van der Wal, S. & Haug, J. T. 2019. Changes of mouthpart morphology during ontogeny of a marine fish associated isopodan species of Aega. 19. Crustaceologentagung, München, 28.03.–31.03.2019.

van der Wal, S., Hadfield, K. A. & Smit N. J. 2019. The importance of undescribed material from collections for biodiversity: the group Elthusa Schioedte & Meinert, 1884 (Eucrustacea, Isopoda, Cymothoidae) from South Africa as an example. 20th Annual Meeting of the Society for Biological Systematics (Gesellschaft für Biologische Systematik, GfBS), München, 24.–27.02.2019.

van der Wal, S. 2017. Review of the fish parasitic isopod genus Elthusa (Isopoda: Cymothoidae) from southern Africa. 3rd International Congress of Parasites of Wildlife 2017, Skukuza, Kruger National Park, South
Africa, September 2017.

van der Wal, S. 2015. Intra-specific variability of a fish parasitic cymothoid isopod, Cymothoa eremita Brünnich, 1783 from southern Africa using morphological and molecular techniques. 9th International Symposium of Fish Parasites, Valencia, Spain, September 2015.

07.01.–11.01.2019: Centrum für Naturkunde (CeNak), Hamburg

2018: DAAD Research Grant - Doctoral Programmes in Germany

2017: South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) – Foundational Biodiversity Information Programme (FBIP) Masters Bursary

2017: FBIP Student Travel Bursary Award 2017 –7th International Barcode of Life Conference grant

2015: National Research Foundation (NRF) Academic Bursary – DST Innovation Fund Honours Block Grant Scholarship.

2016 – Present: ZSSA (Zoological Society of Southern Africa).

2016 – 2018: PARSA (Parasitological Society of Southern Africa).

2014 – 2017: Golden Key International Honour Society.