This accession consists of the research records of zoologist James Francis Lynch
(1942-1998). In 1974, Lynch became the first staff scientist at the Chesapeake Bay Center for
Environmental Studies (CBCES) which was renamed the Smithsonian Environmental Research
Center (SERC) in 1985. Lynch administered or participated in several projects conducted on the
Center's property and the surrounding Chesapeake region to collect and analyze data regarding
insects (especially ants), birds, roadkill, and other terrestrial animals. He also conducted bird, ant,
and amphibian research internationally and his bird netting and banding projects in the Yucatan
(Yucataln), in Australia, and at the Mpala Research Centre in Kenya are particularly well
documented in this collection. In addition, this accession includes documentation of Lynch's
involvement in the Pan American Continental Section of the International Council for Bird
Preservation. Materials include original data, data summaries, data analysis documents, images,
field books, reports, proposals, correspondence, meeting materials, and related materials. Some
materials may have been created while Lynch was a student and a few folders appear to have
been added to his project files after his death.