Sharks and Rays Focus of June 12 FSU Lecture

On Thursday, June 12, from 7 to 9 p.m., the public is invited to attend the next in a series of lectures on coastal and marine life and conservation held throughout the year at Florida State University's Coastal and Marine Laboratory, located in St. Teresa.

The lecture is free and refreshments will be served.

The June 12 lecture, "Sharks and Rays of Florida: An introduction to their diversity, identification, biology and ecology" will be presented by R. Dean Grubbs, an FSU Coastal and Marine Lab scholar-scientist and ecologist.

Worldwide, nearly 1,200 living species of sharks and rays are known to science and new species are being described every year, according to Grubbs. More than 100 species occur off the coasts of Florida. About half of these known species and most of the undescribed species occur in the deeper waters ( greater than 300 meters) of the continental slope, while the others inhabit shallow coastal waters or the offshore near-surface waters.

Grubbs' lecture will include an introduction to the diverse array of sharks and rays in Florida waters and keys to the identification of species most likely to be encountered by Sunshine State fishermen, divers and beachgoers. He will discuss the reproductive strategies, feeding ecology, habitat use and migratory patterns of the fishes and provide a brief examination of fisheries, abundance trends, and the conservation status of Florida's sharks and rays.

For more information on the June 12 event or future lectures in the series, visit the FSU Coastal and Marine Laboratory Website at http://www.marinelab.fsu.edu/outreach.html or contact Maranda Marxsen: 697-4120 or mmarxsen@admin.fsu.edu