'Coral County' Web Comic
'Coral County' follows the adventures of our ocean friends! Join Mr. & Mrs. Crab, & the parrotfish in their home, Coral County.
This comic is a collaboration between artist Brianna Leahy and Vega Thurber Laboratory, Oregon State University.
Discuss & Learn! Episode #1:
Now you know! ...That parrotfish eat corals and large algae! The parrotfish help protect the corals by keeping algae from overgrowing the corals' space. The Trapezia crabs are very thankful that their corals are happy, because they call some corals home! They all work together for a happy, healthy "Coral County" community.
Find the treasure! ...Hover your mouse slowly over each episode to find hidden treasures of science knowledge! Click them to learn more!
Hidden in this episode:
coral, parrotfish, algae, Trapezia crab, ...
To learn more, go to:
About the Authors:
The 'Coral County' web comic series is a collaboration between artist Brianna Leahy and Vega Thurber Laboratory, at Oregon State University.
Dr. Rebecca Vega Thurber
Scientific Authority & Producer
As the project lead, Dr. Rebecca Vega Thurber invited artist Brianna Leahy to create this web comic for scientific outreach. Their goal? To expand the audience of her research to budding scientists, with a little fun! Dr. Rebecca Vega Thurber guided the focus of the comic's content around her laboratory's research.
To learn more about Dr. Vega Thurber, her research and her laboratory, visit their laboratory's website by clicking here.
Brianna E. Leahy
Artist & Writer
Creating "Coral County" through creative writing and visual design presented a unique artistic opportunity. In "Coral County" readers are introduced to scientific concepts in a lighthearted manner as they follow life events of the lovable residents of Coral County.
To create scientific content with accuracy and relevance, Brianna worked closely with Dr. Rebecca Vega Thurber and Ryan McMinds. Together, the team shared ideas, visual representations of the science, and dialogue ideas to create the final comic seen here!
Ryan McMinds
Scientific Resource &Writer
Part of the Vega Thurber Laboratory, Ryan is a PhD candidate currently studying corals from around the world. His research focuses on the health of corals in relation to their symbionts.
To learn more about Ryan McMinds, his research and the Vega Thurber Laboratory, visit their laboratory's website by clicking here.