Stanford Reverses Coral Bleaching in 7 Weeks Using 5-Day Contact Method
Updated
Updated · Good News Network · Oct 17
Stanford Reverses Coral Bleaching in 7 Weeks Using 5-Day Contact Method
3 articles · Updated · Good News Network · Oct 17
Summary
Bleached coral fragments in Stanford’s lab returned to full health within seven weeks after brief contact with healthy clones—the fastest documented recovery and the first full reversal seen in corals near death.
Five days to one week of contact was enough to transfer beneficial algae and nutrients through fused tissues, with recovery beginning in three days and continuing even after the corals were separated.
During the second week, algae inside the bleached fragments doubled every four days—about 10 times faster than in wild corals—showing that regrowth inside the damaged coral drove most of the rebound.
Pairs kept a few millimeters apart did not recover and the bleached fragments died, underscoring that direct contact between genetically identical corals was critical in the experiments.
The Science Advances study could broaden reef-restoration tools against heat-driven bleaching, and the team now plans delivery methods that do not require continuous coral-to-coral contact.