Address:
c/o The Coevolution Institute 423 Washington Street, 5th floor San Francisco, CA 94111-2339 USA

Comments:
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.