Coralreefsarehometomany--likethisclownfish!Buttheyareindanger.Scientistsarearoundtheworldaretryingtoraiseawareness.(Thisphotographisfromanexhibitcalled'CoralReef-SecretCitiesoftheSea'attheNaturalHistorymuseuminLondon,March2015.APPHOTO)
Thelanguageusedbyscientiststoexplaincomplexideascanbedifficultand--well,let’sfaceit--sometimesboring.
Thelanguage,withitsLatinwordsandlongscientificterms,couldbeonereasonsomepeopleavoidlearningaboutscience,especiallychildren.
AmericanDanielleDixsonisamarinebiologist.Shewantstomakesciencefunforchildren.Dixsonhasturnedthatideaintoaseriesofchildren’sbooks.Theninebooksarewrittensothatherresearchiseasytounderstand.
"Ijustdon'treallythinkkidsshouldbeleftoutofitandIthoughtthatstorybooksmaybeoneoftheeasiestwaystosortofcaptivatethemandhavethemunderstand."
DanielleDixsonisanassistantprofessorattheUniversityofDelaware.Dixsonsaysanothergoalofhersciencewritingistohelpincreaseunderstandingoftheoceanenvironment.
ShespentalmosttwoyearsintheSouthPacificworkingonherpost-doctoralresearch.ShewenttotheislandnationofFijitoinvestigatecoralreefsthatarecollapsingor,asshesays,degrading.
Thegoalofherresearchistoidentifywhysomehealthycoralreefsarebreakingdown.Shealsowantstofindouthowthisdegradationaffectsfishthatliveinandaroundthereefs.
"Anumberofthereefsareconvertingfrombeing,youknow,thesebeautifulcoralreefsystemsthathavealotofholesforanimalstohidein,intoreefsthatthecoral’sdegradingandcollapsingandthenthereisnotasmuchhidingspacesforfishesandthingslikethat.”
Earlyinherresearch,DixsonmadesomevideosforpeopleinFiji.Thevideosexplainedherworktothelocalcommunity.Shesaysshewantedthemtounderstandhowherresearchwouldhelpthem.
Forthelocalchildren,Dixsonstartedmakingbooksexplainingherwork.Thishelpedtokeepthemfromwalkingthroughher“laboratory”–babypoolsfilledwithwatershewasusingforherexperiments.
"Iwasliving,actually,inthevillagewithsomeofthelocals.ItwasaloteasiertogetresearchdoneiftheyunderstoodwhatIwasdoingandhowitwouldhelpthem.AndoneofthewaysthatIwasabletoconnectwiththeadultswasIwouldmakethesevideosforthem.AndthenIstartedmakingchildren'sbooksforthekidssothattheywouldhaveabetterideaofwhyIwasthere,sothatwhenIaskthemnottowalkthroughthebabypoolsIwasusingforexperimentsorsomethinglikethat,thatthatwouldactuallyhappen.”
WhenDixsonreturnedtotheUnitedStates,shestarteddoingthesamethingforchildreninthiscountry.Sheusescolorfulstorybookstocapturetheimaginationofchildren.Whileshehastheirattention,sheprovidesveryusefulinformationaboutscience.
Homeandfamilyareattheheartofmanygreatstories.Thesearchforone’shomeorprotectingone’shomeisuniversal.
Inoneofherbooks,DanielleDixsontellsyoungreadersabouttwofish--Mr.andMrs.Goby.Thefishliveinacoralreef.Andtheirhomeissick.
"Mr.andMrs.Gobylivedintheircoralhomeandallifasuddencoralstartstogetsick,buttheyneededtheirhousetostayalive.Sowhatwouldtheydotohelpit?Itsortofgoesthroughallthescientificfindings,butitdoesitinthesenseofthosetwogobiesaretryingtosavetheirhome."
ThestoryaboutthelittlefishwasbasedononeofDixson'sstudies.Sheexplainsthatoneformofseaweedkillscoraloncontact.
"Wedoknowthatthereisonespeciesoftheseaweedthatifyouputincontactwithcoralfor48hours,thecontactpointofthecoralwillbedead.Thereareanumberoforganismsthatliveinsidecorals--thistinylittlegobybeingoneofthem.”
Thegobyfishhaveastronginterestinkeepingtheircoralhomehealthy.Whencoralareindangerfromtheseaweed,themarineorganismssendadistresssignaltoMr.andMrs.Goby.
“Pleasecomehelp!”Andthat’sjustwhatthefishdo.Dixsonexplains.
“Soitwassointerestingtoseesincegobylivesinthecoral,that'sreallyitshome,itshouldhaveavestedinterestinprotectingitshome.SoIranaseriesofexperimentstofigure,youknow,doesthegobyhelpthecoralfighttheseaweed?Anditendsupthattheydo.Wefoundoutthatthecoralactuallycanchemicallycommunicatewiththegobytotellit,like,‘Comehelpme!I'mhurtrighthere!’"
Asamarinescientist,Dixsonwantsherstoriestobebotheducationalandinspirational,servingasanagentforchange.Shealsoincludesinherbooks“acalltoaction,”askingreaderswhattheycandotomakeadifference.
"OneofthethingsIdointhosestorybooksisIhavealastpage.Andthelastpagetalksaboutwhatyoucandotohelp.Youknow,thereisalotofthingsthatevena6-year-oldisabletodo,whetherit'sshuttingyourlightsoffwhenyouleavearoom,orridingyourbiketoyourfriend'shouseinsteadofhavingyourparentsdriveyou.Thereisalotofstuffthattheycandoandstillfeelthey'remakingadifference."
DanielleDixson’sbooksshinealightontheenvironmentalproblemsfacingourworld’soceans.Theyalsomakesciencefunandunderstandableforchildren.
Butherbooksmayhaveanunintendedconsequence,somethingshemaynothaveplannedon.
WhenDaniellevisitedanaquariumatagefive,atourguidegaveherabookaboutwhales.TheconversationsthatresultedfromthatbookinspiredDixsontobecomeamarinebiologist.Perhapsherbookswillinspireachildtomakescienceacareer.
boring-adj.dullanduninteresting
marinebiologist-n.ascientistwhostudieslifeinthesea
captivate-v.togetandholdtheattentionof(someone)
degrade-v.tocause(somethingcomplex)tobreakdownintosimplesubstancesorparts
vestedinterest–combinationnoun/setphraseapersonalorprivatereasonforwantingsomethingtobedoneortohappen
inspirational-adj.causingpeopletowanttodoorcreatesomething
unintendedconsequence–combinationnoun/setphraseunforeseenoutcomesthatarenottheonesforeseenandintendedbyapurposefulaction
aquarium-n.aglassorplasticcontainerinwhichfishandotherwateranimalsandplantscanlive:abuildingpeoplecanvisittoseewateranimalsandplants
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