The importance of pollinator research in the National Parks

Pollination; Is it the process of fertilization by pollen transfer from plant to another, which is severely underrated? Or is it a nearly invisible ecosystem service by pollinators, which requires attention and support as the precious resource in our National Park Systems. Like Yellowstone National Park, its conserved landscapes provide an ideal natural laboratory to better understand plant-pollinator interactions and their impact. In the spring of 2016, our students pioneered the creation for a protocol for citizen science fieldwork involvement in Yellowstone for the non-scientist student. This resulted more than 200 interactions between plants and pollinators by our students.