Grubbs Laboratory in the News

Rare sawfish trying to make a comeback off Florida, Georgia


Bringing back the sawfish Florida adopted protections in 1992 and the U.S. population of sawfish was the nation’s first native marine fish listed under the Endangered Species Act in 2003. By that time, the fish were only found in pockets of Southwest Florida, said Dean Grubbs, associate director of research and a research professor at Florida State University’s Coastal and Marine Laboratory.

Hope, then heartbreak, as first ‘spinning’ sawfish dies in Tampa Bay


“It’s distressing to see the animals dead and dying,” said Dean Grubbs, the associate director of research at Florida State University’s Coastal and Marine Laboratory. Grubbs is also a member of the sawfish recovery team and was on the boat last week when the crew caught the healthy sawfish.

Ph.D. student Annais Muschett-Bonilla awarded inaugural Guy Harvey Fellowship


In a dedicated effort to protect coastal and marine habitats and species, the Guy Harvey Foundation (GHF) has awarded a Florida State University student the inaugural Guy Harvey Fellowship. Annais Muschett-Bonilla, a doctoral student in the College of Arts and Sciences, received a $5,000 research stipend and certificate personally designed and signed by Guy Harvey, world-renowned marine wildlife artist, conservationist and GHF Founder/Chair Emeritus.

10 Years of Post-Oil Spill Science


Dr. Sandra Brooke, Dr. Josh Breithaupt, and Dr. Dean Grubbs were among the many scientists who contributed to the "Results and Impacts of the First Decade of the Florida RESTORE Act Centers of Excellence Program" report. This report covers a variety of fields and projects within Florida in the aftermath of the BP Horizon Oil Spill.

Number of dead, dying sawfish in Lower Keys continue to mount


"There are five species of sawfish in the world. That's it. And they're all listed as endangered or critically endangered,” said Dean Grubbs, a Florida State University fish ecologist and a member of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s sawfish recovery team. “So an occurrence like this, where all of a sudden quite a few large animals are dying inexplicably, is of great concern.”