Worldwide declines in managed and non-managed pollinators have led to an increased global dialogue and focus concerning the potential factors that may be causing these declines. Although a number of factors have been hypothesized as potential contributors to pollinator declines, at this time, no single factor has been identified as the cause. The available science suggests that pollinator declines are a result of multiple factors which may be acting in various combinations. Research is being directedat identifying the individual and combined stressors that are most strongly associated with pollinator declines. Pesticide use is one of the factors under consideration.In an effort to further the global dialogue, the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) held a Pellston Workshop to explore the state of the science on pesticide risk assessment for pollinators. The proposal for this SETAC Workshop wasdeveloped by a steering committee (hereafter referred to as the Steering Committee) comprised of members from the government and nongovernmental organizations who were interested in advancing the science to understand the effect of pesticides on nontarget insects. Workshop participants were tasked to advance the current state of the science of pesticide risk assessment by more thoroughly vetting quantitative and qualitative measures of exposure and effects on the individual bee, and where appropriate,on the colony. In doing so, the Workshop aimed to synthesize the global understanding and work that has, thus far, taken place, and to move toward a harmonized process for evaluating and quantitatively characterizing risk to pollinators from exposure topesticides; and to identify the data needed to inform that process. The Workshop focused on four major topics:
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