DART AND DIVE ACROSS THE REEF

Visits to “rainforests of the sea” found around the world.

Though most of the 13 reefs here are, as usual in surveys of this sort, in tropical climes, Tzomaka ranges further afield to offer views of select flora and fauna in a northern Red Sea reef as well as the Norwegian Sea’s deep, cold-water Røst Reef and even a colony of kelp, not coral, on a “rock reef” in the Aleutian Islands. Pausing occasionally for quick surveys of types of sea turtles, common defense mechanisms, and other side topics, she poses at each named locale several flat but brilliantly patterned images of characteristic fish and other residents. These all float near small blocks of descriptive narrative amid intensely hued colonies of coral or rocky jumbles. The colors really jump out, though there’s an overall static quality to the compositions that makes many of the scenes look more like aquariums than natural settings. Still, despite the occasional malaprop line (“Angelfish only live in groups when they are young and need protection from their parents”), the information is reliable overall, and the tour is properly capped with both remarks about why reefs are in danger and ways of conserving them. 

Worth an exploratory dive, both for the art and diversity of locales.