An ad hoc committee under the purview of the Boards on Life Sciences and Agriculture and Natural Resources will conduct a study to document the status of pollinating animals in North America. Questions to be addressed include whether, and to what degree pollinators are experiencing serious decline; where decline can be established by available data, what its causes are; and what the potential consequences of decline would be in both agricultural and natural ecosystems. The study will make recommendations on what research and monitoring are needed to provide improved information, and on any conservation or restoration steps that can be taken to slow or reverse potential decline or to avoid future decline. The study will compile and analyze the published literature, determine the current state of knowledge on pollinator status, identify knowledge gaps, and establish priorities for addressing these gaps.

Study Committee members (*NAPPC members)

• May Berenbaum, University of Illinois, IL
• Peter Bernhardt, St. Louis University, MO
• Stephen Buchmann*, The Bee Works, AZ
• Nicholas Calderone, Cornell University, NY
• Paul Goldstein, Florida Museum of Natural History, FL
• David Inouye*, University of Maryland, MD
• Peter Kevan*, University of Guelph, Ontario, Can
• Claire Kremen*, Princeton University, NJ
• Rodrigo Medellin*, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mex
• Taylor Ricketts*, World Wildlife Fund, DC
• Gene Robinson, University of Illinois, IL
• Allison Snow, Ohio State University Columbus, OH
• Leonard Thien, Tulane University, LA
• F. Christian Thompson, National Museum of Natural History, DC

NRC Staff

• Robin Schoen, Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources
• Fran Sharples*, Board on Life Sciences

Read more on The National Academies pollinator study.