NCORE and several partners are organizing the CARRUS Alliance. The objective will be to organize a "Comparative Analysis of Reef Resilience Under Stress" Alliance to provide a basis for better understanding of coral reefs at the scale of the whole reef system. The Alliance will consist of researchers conducting independently-supported long-term, interdisciplinary research on whole coral reef systems, including associated social and economic systems, united through agreements for the exchange of information, methods, expertise, and software. One focus of the Alliance will be on developing common research objectives, including the development of decision support systems to facilitate reef management. The Alliance will be linked to the World Bank/GEF Coral Reef Targeted Research Project, and to several other international efforts.

The CARRUS Alliance was formally announced and opened to interested research groups at the International Coral Reef Symposium in Japan in June, 2004. All interested parties who failed to make it to the meeting -- particularly those currently engaged in whole reef studies or those who expect to be soon, and to those involved in activities and organizations with potential interests in the Alliance -- are very much welcome to join the Alliance.

For more information regarding the Alliance and for membership inquiries, please contact: Dr. John W. McManus, Director, NCORE, UM-RSMAS, FL (e-Mail: [email protected]).