Increased demographic turnover and isolation precede social fragmentation in Asian elephants

Humans and many other animals live in interconnected social communities that are essential for survival and well-being. In principle, communities can persist despite changes in constituent members. However, gradually accumulating changes to membership could push systems past critical thresholds into alternate states, restructuring patterns of connectivity. Such changes can further affect systemic resilience against disturbance. We investigated social network dynamics for 443 wild female Asian elephants over 12 years by tracking community membership and structure. Following accumulated demographic turnover, networks fractured into smaller and more isolated communities. Connections changed not only owing to loss of members but also modifications in relationships among remaining individuals. This provides empirical evidence of a persistent state change in the social network of a long-lived terrestrial mammal following gradually accumulating demographic turnover.