Data from: Annual survival in a dynamic species: Pronghorn survival patterns across their northern range

Quantifying variation in demographic patterns, such as survival and
recruitment, is critical for understanding population dynamics and
informing evidence-based and adaptive wildlife management. In
this study, we leverage an extensive dataset from over 1,000 GPS collared
pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) to provide the first large-scale
evaluation of survival patterns for an iconic North American ungulate.
This research spans multiple years, regions, and age and sex classes, and
includes more than 3,000 animal-years of monitoring, representing the most
spatially and temporally extensive survival dataset for the species to
date. Using a hierarchical Bayesian analytical framework, we estimate the
process distribution of survival, thereby capturing true biological
variation in adult females, adult males, and juveniles. Our results reveal
that, across pronghorn populations, mean pronghorn survival is variable
yet statistically consistent across regions and through time. In
contrast, adult female pronghorn show lower and more temporally variable
survival than other sympatric ungulates across North America (e.g., deer
and elk). Through this extensive survival analysis and robust dataset, we
identify demographic mechanisms (e.g., temporally varying adult female
survival rates) that contribute to dynamic population trends within the
species. Our findings advance understanding of pronghorn demography and
highlight species-specific vulnerability to stochastic events. More
broadly, this work underscores the value of large-scale demographic
monitoring for identifying sources of variation in population trends
critical for informing adaptive management in the context of global
environmental change.