Communicating Reefs:
Blurring Interdisciplinary Lines
This work is a project in science communication, bringing a wider audience into the conversation on coral reefs. The project consists of posters geared toward different disciplines across campus. Each poster communicates how corals are
relevant to their field with information that is of interest to each discipline. The main goal is to inspire students and staff to think about coral reefs in a new way in hopes to generate interest in marine ecosystems.
Going into unconventional spaces such as the Jones Business School or Herman Brown Hall, these posters will make coral reefs more accessible to people of different disciplines. After consulting experts from several disciplines, including Ronen Mukamel from the Math Department, I carefully chose themes and content that tied together information from each discipline back to coral reefs.
The vastness of the environmental crisis and its effects on
vulnerable ecosystems require interdependence across disciplinary borders. Thinkers across different fields will be essential to creating solutions to environmental crises affecting marine ecosystems Loss of coral reefs is a global problem, so it is vital that everyone understand their importance in order to be a part of future solutions.
Jake Krauss
Tropical ecologist by training, Jake Krauss has done fieldwork in Madagascar, Belize, Ghana, Australia, and Ecuador on various projects. During his time in the field, he documents his experiences with photos and his blog, which he uses as a platform to engage the online community with his work. He uses a combination of storytelling and photos to keep his followers informed, and several of his photos were exhibited in Coffeehouse as winners of a campus-wide photography contest. He is excited to work on a new project, using visuals in a new way to combine his love of coral reefs while communicating their importance to a wider audience.
ARTIST BIO
