Home : Features : Seagrasses : Seagrass Information

	Printer-Friendly Version

Dr. Ronald C. Phillips, Florida's Pioneer Seagrass Biologist and Active International Coastal Ecologist, Dies at Age 73

Dr. Ronald C. Phillips (June 4, 1932–November 1, 2005)

This year’s Seagrass Awareness Month comes with some sad news:  Dr. Ronald C. Phillips, a pioneer in seagrass research, passed away of heart failure at the age of 73 on November 1, 2005 in Sevastopol, Crimea, Ukraine, where he lived with his wife, Dr. Nataliya A. Michalkova, and stepson, Dima. Ron was working with his wife at Sevastopol’s Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas, publishing papers on seagrass ecology in the Black Sea at the time.

From 1956 through 1960, during the early part of his prestigious professional career, Dr. Phillips worked with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI) in St. Petersburg (then the Florida Board of Conservation Marine Laboratory) as a seagrass and algae biologist under Robert M. Ingle. In 1957, he initiated the seagrass-transplanting research program.  Dr. Phillips went on to work for various organizations including Battelle Seattle and Seattle Pacific University. In 1988, he co-authored, with Ernani Menez, an ecological summary on seagrasses published by the Smithsonian Institution simply entitled, “Seagrasses,” which is widely cited and recognized as a definitive reference for many seagrass biologists.  After retiring from teaching at Seattle Pacific University, he returned to FWRI as a consultant to assist with the development of seagrass management plans. Among the authored multitude of publications dealing with the ecology of seagrasses around the world during his productive lifetime, he co-authored “Seagrass Communities of the Gulf Coast of Florida: Status and Ecology” (published August 2004) with Dr. Clinton Dawes (University of South Florida) and Gerold Morrison. In February 2005, he received a prestigious award from the scientific community of the United Arab Emirates for his contributions to seagrass research in the Persian Gulf. He was President Emeritus of The Seagrass Experts Group, Inc.

Photo credit: Charles Seaborn

Dr. Phillips was a respected scientist, whose good-hearted and peaceful nature will be remembered by many, and missed by all who were fortunate enough to know him.  His contributions to the understanding of Florida’s seagrass resources and their management will live on in the many students, researchers and managers influenced by his life’s work.

View 2006 Seagrass Awareness Month proclamation from Florida Governor Jeb Bush (PDF File—400 KB)

(Note: Adobe Acrobat is required to view this file. To download Adobe Reader visit http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html)