Status of pollinators in North America

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This report of the National Research Council’s Committee on the Status of Pollinators in North America is an assessment of pollinating animals in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. To prepare this report, the committee compiled and analyzed the published literature; consulted numerous experts from academia, industry, and nongovernmental organizations; and drew from its members’ extensive expertise. The extent to which the committee could discuss different pollinator species in different regions depended largely on the availability of data, as the amount and quality of evidence vary widely for different animal groups. For most North American pollinator species, long-term population data are lacking, and knowledge of their basic ecology is incomplete. These information deficiencies make definitive assessments of North American pollinator status exceedingly difficult. This lack stands in contrast to the study of pollinators in Europe, where status has been the subject of systematic investigation for some time and where declines and extinctions have been definitively documented. Notwithstanding these gaps, the committee found sufficient evidence to determine the status of a range of both managed and unmanaged pollinators in North America. Long-term population trends for the honey bee, the most important managed pollinator, are demonstrably downward. Similar data are not available for other managed pollinators, such as alfalfa leafcutting bees and bumble bees. Introduced parasites and pathogens clearly have harmed some managed pollinators, most notably honey bees. Managed pollinator decline and rising cost of pest control could increase pollinator rental fees. As noted, improved information gathering for the beekeeping industry is critical, and the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) should modify its data collection methodologies. In addition, the potential for developing new management protocols to increase the use of wild pollinator species for agriculture should be explored to create alternatives to honey bees as commercial pollinator demands rise and shortages become likely. Research in genetics and genomics has facilitated the development and maintenance of mite- and pathogen-resistant stocks of honey bees. However, these technologies have not been widely adopted, and there is a pressing need for translational research to synthesize commercially viable practices from the results of basic research. There is evidence of decline in the abundance of some pollinators, but the strength of this evidence varies among taxa. Long-term population trends for several wild bee species (notably bumble bees) and some butterflies, bats, and hummingbirds are demonstrably downward. For most pollinator species, however, the paucity of long-term population data and the incomplete knowledge of even basic taxonomy and ecology make definitive assessment of status exceedingly difficult. The causes of decline among wild pollinators vary by species but are generally difficult to assign definitively. Pathogens that have spilled over from commercially produced bumble bees for greenhouse pollination appear to have contributed to declines in some native bumble bees. Other factors for which there is convincing evidence include habitat degradation and loss, particularly for some bats, bees, and butterflies. The consequences of pollinator decline in nonagricultural systems are more difficult to define, but one important result could be an increased vulnerability of some plant species to extinction. Long-term, systematic monitoring is necessary for unambiguous documentation of trends in species abundance and richness. Such monitoring allows detection of relationships between changes in pollinator communities and the putative causes of change. Those relationships must be understood to assist in developing plans to mitigate harm or to manage species sustainably. Effective conservation or restoration of pollinator populations requires comprehensive knowledge of their biology, which is currently insufficient to inform the design of sustainable management and maintenance programs. However, many simple and relatively inexpensive practices for pollinator conservation are available. Land managers and landowners, including farmers and homeowners, should be encouraged to adopt “pollinator-friendly” practices, many of which incur little expense. However, widespread adoption of these practices is unlikely unless there is a general appreciation of the ecological and economic benefits of pollinators. Hence, public outreach is key to pollinator protection, conservation, and restoration.

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ELECTRONIC FILE - Zoology: Invertebrates

Note: number of page numbers is for PDF version downloadable from http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11761/status-of-pollinators-in-north-america.

Additional information: Study supported by the USDA Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) under Award No. 59-0790-3-201 and the U.S. Geological Survey under Grant Agreement No. 03HQGR0131.

SWAP citation (2/19/16):
[NRC] National Research Council of the National Academies (US), Committee on the Status of Pollinators in North America. 2007. Status of pollinators in North America. Washington (DC): National Academies Press. 307 p. [accessed 2015 Jun 01]. http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11761/status-of-pollinators-in-north-america.