The chief functions of the Laboratory are research and advanced teaching. It is not so suitable for elementary classes, since the accessible shallow-water environments are relatively limited and we do not encourage collecting. We have a total ban on the collection, in shallow water within the Bay, of corals, gorgonians and large molluscs, although specimens can be obtained for investigators at other sites. Limited sampling of other epifauna is permissible. Algae and infauna are sufficiently abundant not to need our protection.

As well as research carried out by associates of CMS, DBML hosts groups of scientists and students from universities worldwide, engaged either in research or in higher education. This activity, started with the founding of the laboratory, has resulted in DBML having an international reputation for excellence and expertise in coral reef biology and tropical coastal processes. The Discovery Bay reef is a classic and much cited example in the scientific literature on coral reefs.

Recent priorities in research have focused on environmental issues impacting the coral reefs of Jamaica and elsewhere. Jamaican reefs have seen dramatic degradation over the last two decades, resulting from a range of both man-made and natural factors (overfishing, coastal pollution, hurricanes, etc). DBML is involved in several externally funded programs concerned with monitoring coral reefs and other important coastal habitats throughout the Caribbean region. These programs are intended to detect environmental changes in order to inform conservation and management priorities.

It is a short boat trip out of the Bay to the fore-reef directly in front of the Laboratory, where permanent moorings allow us to make repeated visits to the same locality without difficulty. Here, a diverse reef community grows on submarine terraces only a few hundred metres wide. Study areas can be selected at any depth.