Module 14: Endemic species

The message
Endemic and range-limited species are unique to one place, making conserving that place especially important.

The experience
Visitors chose to become one of several plant and animal species, many of which are endemic or have a limited range. Their goal is to find the habitat that’s “just right” from several ecosystems or global destinations, including Madagascar, the Philippines, and Peru. Visitors start with some clues from their species’ profile (some basic likes and dislikes) and basic stats on the different ecosystems to select. Visitors receive additional feedback as they place their species into different habitats (“too warm,” “too wet,” “nothing to eat,” etc.). After a match is found, the game might further dramatize the effects of climate change or habitat loss—where can that species go next? In some cases, the answer is nowhere.

Surrounding this interactive are cases with specimens and taxidermy mounts from Madagascar, the Philippines, and Peru. Skeletons of one of the world’s largest bats (its wingspan stretching more than 5 feet) and one of the world’s tiniest bats (several skulls could fit on your thumbnail) hang side by side in the Philippines case, while a lemur and suckerfoot bats populate the Madagascar case. Birds with bright plumage and herbarium sheets, accompanied by full-color high-resolution plant scans, fill the Peru case.

The story
Our efforts to document endemic biodiversity struggle to keep pace with deforestation in many countries. Given their limited range, these species disappear once an ecosystem disappears.

For Steve Goodman in Madagascar and Larry Haney in the Philippines, communicating that these local species are totally unique stirs pride and, in turn, conservation action among the public. Both men have coordinated special campaigns on endemic species targeting schoolchildren.

Larry Haney has produced a biogeographic modeling system for the Philippines that predicts the number of mammal species and the number of new mammal species one can expect to find based on a site’s elevation, precipitation, temperature, and degree of isolation.

ECCo has produced several books on endemic and limited-range species, including “The Birds of Peru” and “The Plants of Peru.” Of the plants that grow nowhere else in the world but Peru, 50% did not appear in Peruvian botanical collections at the time of publication—a Peruvian scientist would have no record or image to reference native species. By making materials from the Field collection accessible, ECCo is arming local scientists with essential conservation information.

Module 8: Knowledge of our environment

The message
Conservation begins with knowledge of our environment and its resources.

The experience
Visitors encounter an array of maps: the hand-drawn territory map created by the Maijuna, “memory maps” created with other indigenous groups, social asset maps from the Chicagoland area, and perhaps swell maps from the South Pacific and early surveyor maps of Chicago. At individual touch screen kiosks or a multi-user touchtable, visitors can explore Google Earth to find out where Field Museum scientists are involved in conservation efforts around the world. They can also view rapid color guides, identification keys, and other field materials created for a specific region. Visitors might also have the opportunity to contribute to this or other maps.

The story
This section would help convey very basic concepts that underscore the work of our scientists:
From the perspective of the anthropology staff, something all human communities share is knowledge of their environment and its natural resources for survival. As John Terrell points out, when urbanites shop at Trader Joe’s they’re really foraging for food in a location they know to be successful for finding sustenance. It’s just a matter of how we make choices with this knowledge—that’s conservation.

For biological scientists, it’s important to convey that we can’t protect something if we don’t know what’s there. The Museum has a long-standing relationship with regions around the world to help answer this question. Museum scientists work with local officials and train the next generation of scientists in these countries to share knowledge of the environment and the foundations for conservation. This can be demonstrated in part through the guides we produce, making knowledge of place more accessible.

Module 2: ECCo conducts rapid inventories

The message
ECCo conducts rapid inventories to record the biodiversity of undocumented landscapes.

The experience
The “green wall” stretches across the gallery—a projected image or large screen showing the overwhelming mix of vegetation scientists must learn to read. At first, it appears static but on closer observation it is a live image—the leaves rustle in the breeze, a ripple appears in the stream; the sounds of the forest underscore this subtle activity.

At touch screen stations spaced along the scene, visitors can get tips on ways to explore the landscape through the lens of different inventory team members. An ornithologist might give a tip to “look” with your ears—a bird may be hard to spot in the leaves, but you can hear its call. A mammalogist might suggest looking for food sources—lots of fruit trees mean you’ll probably spot some mammals at night.

Opposite the green wall are lush, close-up images of discoveries from inventories and the actual specimens from the field set into cases below.

The story
Learning to manage the “green wall” is the starting point for new inventory member in training. Inventory teams require the best of their field and typically include museum-based scientist who have near-encyclopedic knowledge of diverse taxa. In these undocumented regions, scientists must be able to instantly identify species and spot those aspects of the region that are unexpected, such as extensions of habitat range, or possibly new. Given the rapid nature of their work, inventory scientists are looks for what’s common, what’s missing, what’s unique, and how much the composition of species changes between sites on an inventory.

Module 1: ECCo protects large landscapes

The message
ECCo works in interdisciplinary teams to protect large intact landscapes.

The experience
A helicopter hovers above visitors’ heads. A backdrop image stretching the gallery’s height shows an ECCo scientist being lowered into a lush green landscape. The vegetation appears to spread to the gallery’s floor, with overhead projections and gobos creating a sea of green leaves underfoot.

Nearby, a portion of the gallery is sectioned off by a curved partition. Its exterior is wrapped with graphic panels describing ECCo basic mission. Inside the partitioned space, the wall serves as a projection screen for an interactive video of a helicopter fly-over. Visitors can take a seat as passengers, or take their turn as one of two pilots, who navigate using joysticks. Seating is gently sloped so that visitors can view both the floor and the curving walls.

Over the copter’s radio, a member of the ECCo team guides visitors through preparations for a rapid inventory. First, the team reviews the satellite images for clues about the region—for example, a yellow patch indicates a clearing, a light green trail appears to have less vegetation, or deep purple patches might mean a palm colony.

With the sound of propellers starting, the fly-over begins and the projected views create the illusion of slowing rising out of a clearing, into the forest canopy, and out into blue sky. The pilots navigate using the joystick, tracking their location on either a simple map or the satellite image explored earlier. Pilots can chose to zoom in for a closer look, opening a brief video or images narrated by members of the ECCo team. For example, an anthropologist provides information on an indigenous village, a botanist points out palm stands, and an ichthyologist shows species of fish they’re expecting to find in a river.

At the end of the flight, the helicopter climbs higher to reveal the major tracts of intact forests preserved by ECCo.

The story
The helicopter captures the dynamic and at times dangerous nature of conservation. It communicates that conservation issues are so important, the consequences to dire, and the landscapes so precious, that Field Museum scientist are willing to go to these length. The helicopter fly-over can provide an overview of ECCo’s mission, while also following the initial process the research team uses to plan their inventories