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Caribbean Coral Reef Ecosystems Program
The Caribbean Coral Reef Ecosystems (CCRE) Program is a long term field study dedicated to investigations of coral reefs and associated mangroves, seagrass meadows, and sandy bottoms. Field operations are based at the Carrie Bow Cay Field Station on the Meso-American Barrier Reef in Belize, while logistical and administrative operations are based at the Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce, Florida. These two marine stations are a part of the Smithsonian Marine Science Network, an association of coastal research facilities spanning the Western Atlantic coastal zone and across the Isthmus of Panama. For over thirty-five years, research at Carrie Bow Cay Field Station has focused on the topography, origin, geological development, and oceanography of the reef and its numerous islands, as well as biodiversity, evolution, and ecology of its organisms and communities.