Adult female survival is an important component to population models and management programs for white‐tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), but short‐term survival studies (1–3 yrs) may not accurately reflect the variation in interannual survival, which could alter management decisions. We monitored annual survival and cause‐specific mortality rates of adult female white‐tailed deer (n = 158) for 6 years (2010–2012, 2016–2018) in southern Delaware, USA. Annual survival rate differed among years. Survival rates (±SE) and mortality causes were similar in 3 years (2011 = 0.72 ± 0.08, 2017 = 0.68 ± 0.08, 2018 = 0.74 ± 0.09) and comparable to previous research from mixed forest‐agricultural landscapes. A relatively low survival rate in 2010 (0.48 ± 0.11) was influenced by hunter harvest and potentially compounded by abnormally severe winter conditions in the prior year. A peracute outbreak of hemorrhagic disease occurred during summer 2012, resulting in an annual survival rate of 0.38 ± 0.11, and to our knowledge is the first reported case of a hemorrhagic disease outbreak in a monitored wild population with known fates. In 2016, we did not observe any harvest mortality, resulting in high annual survival (0.96 ± 0.04). Our results demonstrate the degree of variability in annual survival and cause‐specific mortality rates within a population. We caution against the use of short‐term survival studies to inform management decisions, particularly when incorporating survival data into population models or when setting harvest objectives. © 2020 The Wildlife Society.

中文翻译：

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成年雌性白尾鹿成活率的年际变化

成年女性的生存是一个重要的组成部分人口模型和白尾鹿管理方案（白尾virginianus），但短期生存研究（1-3岁）可能无法准确反映际生存的变化，这可能会改变管理决策。我们监测了成年雌性白尾鹿（n = 158），为期6年（2010–2012、2016–2018）在美国特拉华州南部。年生存率随年份的不同而不同。3年内的成活率（±SE）和死亡率原因相似（2011 = 0.72±0.08，2017 = 0.68±0.08，2018 = 0.74±0.09），可与之前的混合森林-农业景观研究相媲美。2010年相对较低的生存率（0.48±0.11）受猎人收成的影响，并可能因上一年异常严峻的冬季条件而变得更加复杂。2012年夏季发生了一次彻底的出血性疾病暴发，导致年生存率为0.38±0.11，据我们所知，这是首次在已知命运的监测野生种群中报告出血性疾病暴发。在2016年，我们没有观察到任何收获死亡率，导致较高的年生存率（0.96±0.04）。我们的结果证明了人群中年生存率和特定原因死亡率的变异程度。我们警告不要使用短期生存研究为管理决策提供依据，尤其是在将生存数据纳入种群模型或设定收获目标时。©2020野生动物协会。