Stroud Water Research Center

David Funk

https://stroudcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/david-funk.jpg 500 500 Stroud Water Research Center Stroud Water Research Center https://stroudcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/david-funk.jpg October 4, 2016 March 4, 2025

David Funk

Research Scientist Emeritus

Entomology Group

Interests and Expertise

David Funk is interested in all aspects of aquatic insect biology, especially the resolution of species using genetics, reproductive biology, and life history data. He has also combined his interests in entomology and photography to produce an extensive collection of images of aquatic insects in their native habitats.

Publications

Ameletus Mayflies (Ephemeroptera: Ameletidae) of the Eastern Nearctic

Funk, D.H. 2025. Insects 16(5): 530.

Variation in freshwater insect osmoregulatory traits: A comparative approach

Cochran, J.K., S.E. Orr, D.H. Funk, A.C. Figurskey, M.H. Reiskind, and D.B. Buchwalter. 2024. Ecological and Evolutionary Physiology 97(3): 164–179.

Oxygen limitation fails to explain upper chronic thermal limits and the temperature size rule in mayflies

Funk, D.H., B.W. Sweeney, and J.K. Jackson. 2021. Journal of Experimental Biology 224:jeb.233338.

Transcriptomic and life history responses of the mayfly Neocloeon triangulifer to chronic diel thermal challenge

Hsuan C., D.D. Jima, D.H. Funk, J.K. Jackson, B.W. Sweeney, and D.B. Buchwalter. 2020. Nature Scientific Reports 10:19119.

Space colonization by branching trachea explains the morphospace of a simple respiratory organ

Ruiz-Sobrino, A., C.A. Martín-Blanco, T. Navarro, I. Almudi, G. Masiero, M. Jimenez-Caballero, D.B. Buchwalter, D.H. Funk, J.L. Gattolliat, M.C. Lemos, F. Jiménez, and F. Casares. 2020. Developmental Biology 462(1): 50–59.

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Photography

I have been taking pictures of insects for more than 35 years and have developed special equipment such as a shallow underwater rig (pictured below) for taking in-stream photos of aquatic insects. My photographs have appeared in numerous books and magazines, including Natural History, Scientific American, Ranger Rick, National Wildlife, Wings (Xerces Society), BBC Wildlife, and Nature Australia.

Ameletus ludens mayfly larva photographed in White Clay Creek, Pennsylvania.

David Funk using his shallow underwater photography rig.

A partnership between the LaMotte Company and the Stroud Center has bridged a gap between scientific research and water sustainability through education.

Four Seasons of Salt Threaten Wildlife

Excessive winter salt use is leading to year-round pollution in fresh water. Discover why this is a problem and what you can do about it.

The Magic of Mayflies

If you’ve ever hiked along a woodland stream on a warm spring day, you may have seen these tiny creatures swarming together, fluttering in a midair dance.

The Bug Whisperer: Dave Funk Decodes Mysteries of Mayflies and Other Clean-Water Lovers

Funk's insatiable curiousity has served him well during 45 years as a instrumental player on landmark freshwater studies at the Stroud Center.

Modeling Mayflies to Understand the Challenges of a Warming Planet

There are some questions too complicated for lab experiments to answer.

Stories From the Streams: Salty Streams

How salty is too salty? Road salt keeps travelers safe in winter but can pose a serious threat to nearby streams. Episode 5 in the “Stories from the Streams” series from WHYY TV12.

Test Your Skills With the #MysteryMacro Quiz

Want a fun way to learn about freshwater macroinvertebrates? Check out the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission #MysteryMacro quiz featuring photos by Dave Funk.

Mayfly Eggs Hatching a Minute After Being Laid

This ovoviviparous mayfly holds her eggs internally until embryonic development is complete after which she lays them in water and they hatch immediately.

Monitoring the Health of the Susquehanna

An article in an area newspaper chronicled Stroud Water Research Center’s annual sampling of the Susquehanna River near Mehoopany, Pennsylvania.

Mystery Midge with “Kite Tail” Eggs

Stroud Center entomologist David Funk documented the unusual behavior of an orthoclad midge species at Lake Umbagog on the Maine/New

Mystery Midge with “Kite Tail” Eggs

Stroud Center entomologist David Funk documented the unusual behavior of an orthoclad midge species at Lake Umbagog on the Maine/New Hampshire border: Adult females fly over the lake and extrude long strings of eggs which they eventually drop into the water.

Could Rising Temps Be Killing Mayflies, Threatening Streams? Scientists Investigate.

When mayfly populations decline, it's a warning that something has gone wrong. But what? Stroud Center scientists and their colleagues are investigating.

Sharing Our Science: Winter-Spring 2016

For the long-tailed dance fly, every night is ladies’ night, Dave Funk explained in a lecture a University of Delaware insect ecology class.

2015 Stroud Center Publications

Stroud Center scientists have authored or co-authored more than two dozen scientific papers this year, exhibiting the range of our

UpStream Newsletter, December 2013

Stroud Center scientists find mayflies, whose presence indicates good water quality, are significantly affected by low levels of fracking wastewater.

UpStream Newsletter, July 2013

Where the Wells Run Dry: To predict the potential impact of climate variability, climate change, land use, and human activity on water resources in the Central Great Plains, Melinda Daniels, Ph.D., is leading a three-year research project recently funded by the National Science Foundation.

Smooth Operations: Keeping Our Campus Running

Thanks to the skilled and experienced facilities management team, Stroud Water Research Center’s high-tech, environmentally sustainable campus runs like a

UpStream Newsletter, June 2013

A Holistic Approach to Restoring Streams: Our Watershed Restoration Group has an ambitious goal -- add forested buffers along the entire length of two streams over the next two years.

Monitors Find Healthy Signs in Hay Creek Near Birdsboro

April 21, 2010. bctv.org: Stroud Water Research Center employees were interviewed while monitoring Hay Creek during their annual Schuylkill River Watershed monitoring.

UpStream Newsletter, Spring 2008

A documentary film chronicles how students rowed, paddled, and across the watersheds that provide nine million New Yorkers with drinking water.

UpStream Newsletter, Fall 2001

The Stroud Center’s federally funded study of riparian forest buffers in West and East Bradford townships in Chester County, turns 10 years old this year.

UpStream Newsletter, Spring 2000

The Stroud Center, internationally-known for its knowledge of small streams, is now doing a research project on the nation’s largest river, the Mississippi.

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