# Elephants found to be increasingly isolated, leading to fractured social networks

Source: [Biology News - Evolution, Cell theory, Gene theory, Microbiology, Biotechnology](https://phys.org/news/2026-11-elephants-isolated-fractured-social-networks.html) · 2026-11-12 · Life
Page: https://themorning.science/story/elephants-found-to-be-increasingly-isolated-leading-to-fractured-social-networks-3781de4f90356bec
Kind: research · Impact: medium

## In brief

- A study published in Science in November 2026 examined social networks of Asian elephants.
- The research found increased demographic turnover and isolation preceding social fragmentation in the animals.
- Asian elephants live in groups that cooperate to access food and care for young.

## Why it matters

The study links demographic turnover and isolation to breakdown of social structure in a long-lived social species, which is relevant to conservation and to understanding how social networks change over time.

## Timeline

- 2026-11-12: Study on increased demographic turnover and isolation preceding social fragmentation in Asian elephants reported in Science

## Coverage

- [Elephants found to be increasingly isolated, leading to fractured social networks](https://phys.org/news/2026-11-elephants-isolated-fractured-social-networks.html) — Biology News - Evolution, Cell theory, Gene theory, Microbiology, Biotechnology, 2026-11-12
- [Increased demographic turnover and isolation precede social fragmentation in Asian elephants](https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.aef6714?af=R) — science.org, 2026-11-12

Tags: elephants, social networks, animal behaviour, conservation, demography

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Brief generated by AI (claude-haiku-5-5) from the reporting listed under Coverage. Headlines belong to their publishers. The Morning Science – https://themorning.science