Bleached coral recovered within seven weeks after touching healthy coral in a Stanford laboratory study, suggesting a possible way to help corals damaged by ocean heat.
Researchers found that a bleached fragment and a healthy fragment from the same coral animal needed close contact for about a week before healing occurred. Corals can produce genetically identical clones, whose tissues can fuse when they meet.
The finding comes as El Niño pushes Pacific Ocean temperatures toward near-record highs, renewing the threat of bleaching. Ocean heat can stress corals and turn them white, often a sign that they may die.
The researchers cautioned that more work is needed before the technique could be used to restore entire reefs in the wild.
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