Video credited to @amandahic on Instagram.

Sheepshead Fish with strikingly human-like teeth

A few millimeters separated recovery from severe decline in tanks of bleached coral. Fragments touching healthy genetic clones regained their beneficial algae and resumed growth. Fragments held nearby without contact largely succumbed to invasive algae and tissue loss.

The laboratory findings, published in Science Advances, reveal a route to rapid recovery after bleaching. Stanford University researchers found that about a week of contact could provide enough algae for recovery to continue independently. The results identify a biological mechanism, rather than a method already demonstrated to restore natural reefs.

Danny Collins, an oceans doctoral student at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, led the study with colleagues including Steve Palumbi. Their experiments involved small fragments of the branching coral Pocillopora damicornis. Successful recovery required a healthy donor genetically matching the bleached recipient, a major constraint on wider use.

Video credited to @bringasdive on Instagram.