Stanford researchers found that bleached fragments of the coral Pocillopora damicornis could recover when placed in direct contact with healthy fragments from the same genetic clone.
In the main experiment, all five bleached fragments touching healthy matches fully recovered within eight weeks. The fragments kept apart stayed bleached and did not regain full health.
The team observed symbiotic algae moving through a tissue bridge between the matching corals. The study used aquarium-maintained fragments of one coral species, and it has not shown that the method can restore reefs in the wild at scale.
