Data from: A global synthesis of survival estimates for microbats

Accurate survival estimates are needed to construct robust population
models, which are a powerful tool for understanding and predicting the
fates of species under scenarios of environmental change. Microbats make
up 17% of the global mammalian fauna, yet the processes that drive
differences in demographics between species are poorly understood. We
collected survival estimates for 44 microbat species from the literature
and constructed a model to determine the effects of reproductive, feeding
and demographic traits on survival. Our trait-based model indicated that
bat species which produce more young per year exhibit lower apparent
annual survival, as do males and juveniles compared with females and
adults, respectively. Using 8 years of monitoring data for two Australian
species, we demonstrate how knowledge about the effect of traits on
survival can be incorporated into Bayesian survival analyses. This
approach can be applied to any group and is not restricted to bats or even
mammals. The incorporation of informative priors based on traits can allow
for more timely construction of population models to support management
decisions and actions.