Visualization-based Scrollytelling of Coupled Threats for Biodiversity, Species and Music Cultures

Abstract

Biodiversity loss, land use change and international trade are the main causes for an increasing number of endangered species. As a consequence resource scarcity due to endangered species also threatens cultural heritage. To depict such coupled threats and their interconnections for the specific case of musical instruments of a symphony orchestra, the MusEcology project developed a platform to analyze dependencies between musical instrument manufacturing for symphony orchestras, and threat assessments to plant and animal species used as resources. Non-experts are rarely aware of this intertwined threat. Therefore, low-threshold information distribution is urgently needed. We extended the MusEcology platform with scrollytelling functionalities helping domain experts drafting stories that use the visualizations of different dimensions throughout various zoom levels. We outline the utility of our approach with a particular scrollytelling example of the threatened pau-brasil wood (Paubrasilia echinata (Lam.) Gagnon, H.C.Lima & G.P.Lewis), endemic to the Brazilian Mata Atlântica, ever since 1800 used for sticks of high-quality string instrument bows. The story of the natural material from forests to instrument-making workshops, musicians and audiences is told through informative texts, interviews, sound recordings, photographs, and schematic drawings. By bringing together expertise from different fields, this story highlights the interconnected dependencies between ecosystems, culture, and music. The interactive storytelling experiences are aimed at casual users and policy makers to raise awareness of the underlying complexity of biodiversity and instrument making, to support related and induce necessary decision making processes, and to unfold possible pathways towards a more harmonic and sustainable music ecosystem.