  Long duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) accompany the deaths of some massive
stars and hence, since massive stars are short lived, are a tracer of star
formation activity. Given that GRBs are bright enough to be seen to very high
redshifts, and detected even in dusty environments, they should therefore
provide a powerful probe of the global star formation history of the universe.
The potential of this approach can be investigated via submm photometry of GRB
host galaxies. Submm luminosity also correlates with star formation rate, so
the distribution of host galaxy submm fluxes should allow us to test the two
methods for consistency. Here, we report new JCMT/SCUBA 850 micron measurements
for 15 GRB hosts. Combining these data with results from previous studies we
construct a sample of 21 hosts with <1.4 mJy errors. We show that the
distribution of apparent 850 micron flux densities of this sample is reasonably
consistent with model predictions, but there is tentative evidence of a dearth
of submm bright (>4 mJy) galaxies. Furthermore, the optical/infrared properties
of the submm brightest GRB hosts are not typical of the galaxy population
selected in submm surveys, although the sample size is still small. Possible
selection effects and physical mechanisms which may explain these discrepancies
are discussed.
