NURP provides services and facilities to support undersea research and scientific exploration for the Wider Caribbean Region through the Caribbean Marine Research Center (CMRC). Both leased and in-house capabilities are available with the primary research facility located on Lee Stocking Island, Bahamas, where CMRC offers wet and dry laboratories, room and board, marine operations, field support, and advanced diving facilities. Given the regional dependence on fisheries, much research is focused on ecologically and economically important species such as the queen conch, spiny lobster, snapper, and Nassau grouper. Similarly, coral reefs are vital to this region and ecological studies are focused on species recruitment, reproduction, and biodiversity. In supporting research on fisheries and coral reef ecosystems, researchers are focusing efforts to determine the effectiveness and design of Marine Protected Areas, especially no-take marine reserves. To understand climate change and its effects on coral reef ecosystems, CMRC maintains a comprehensive environmental monitoring program including a network of temperature-recording stations in several areas of the Caribbean and works with NOAA's Coral Reef Watch Program examining seawater temperatures, ultraviolet light, sea level, and weather patterns. New discoveries of biomedical compounds, aquaculture and stock enhancement, and advancing diving techniques are foundations for continuing research at CMRC.

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Updated: April 1, 2005