Caroline Rogers has combined her passion for the coral reefs of St. John with her photographic skill to create "Coral Reef Stars," a photo book about the sea life surrounding the island.

Readers will see common sea life such as blue tangs, queen parrotfish, turtles, silversides, and queen conch. However, the book has many photos of rarely-seen conch like true tulips, Atlantic triton’s trumpets and helmets as well as other unusual varieties of sea life.

Distressed by watching the decline of St. John’s coral reefs, she wanted to record what was happening but also to point out that the island still has vibrant sea life.

"We still have spotted sea turtle, spotted eagle rays, blue tangs …" she said, ticking off a long list of sea life that continues to call St. John home.

In "Coral Reef Stars" Rogers combines stellar photos with educational prose to help readers better understand the island’s undersea life.

"When you put on a mask and enter the water, you enter another realm," she writes in the introduction.

She started out by compiling some of the photographs into a small book she gave to friends and family. She eventually took the plunge, picking the best of many, many photographs taken while snorkeling around St. John. She said she was careful to choose photographs that would appeal to readers.

"I may get excited about a small, brown coral because it’s rare but it’s not colorful," she said.

The book also has an aerial photo of St. John by island photographer Bill Stelzer.

Rogers spends her days working as a coral reef ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey. She’s based at V.I. National Park on St. John and much of her job takes her underwater to keep tabs on the island’s reefs.

She drew on her 25 years on St. John to put together the book.

A Massachusetts native, Rogers holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from Stanford University and a doctorate in ecology from the University of Florida.

Most of the photos were taken when snorkeling in the park’s waters and at St. John’s Coral Reef National Monument. She said readers can see the same without donning cumbersome scuba gear.

New to publishing, she worked with St. John Magazine publisher MaLinda Nelson in putting the book together.

"We spent lots of weekends going through photos," she said.

She also had to decide on a printer for her self-published book. She opted for National Litho because it was based in the United States and had a record of doing good quality work on "St. John Magazine."

The soft-cover book slips easily into a suitcase, a fact that Rogers planned because she didn’t want to do a big "coffee table" book and she wanted something that tourists could easily take home.

Rogers is now working on a book of photos about the island’s mangroves.

“Coral Reef Stars,” which costs $25, is for sale at gift shops all over St. John, at Dockside Books on St. Thomas and through www.seaturtle.org/coral_reef_stars/. Five dollars of each sale made through the Sea Turtle website go to the organization.