Descriptive Entry

This accession consists of research and reference materials related to the study of the biological impact of a proposed sea level canal through the Isthmus of Panama. In particular, many of the records focus on the sea snake. A large portion of these records were originally compiled by Ernst Mayr, Chairman of the National Research Council, Committee on Ecological Research for the Inter-Oceanic Canal and later given to Ira Rubinoff, Director of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Some of the records compiled by Mayr were originally written by Rubinoff and David Challinor, Smithsonian Institution, Assistant Secretary for Science. Materials include correspondence, reports, meeting materials, clippings, reprints, manuscripts, images, and related materials.