Marine scientists have successfully restored a bleached section of the Great Barrier Reef using a new technique called 'Assisted Evolution', offering a lifeline for these threatened ecosystems.
Selective Breeding for Heat
Researchers bred coral colonies in the lab that had naturally survived previous heatwaves. By crossing these 'super-survivors' and exposing the larvae to gradually increasing temperatures, they accelerated the natural selection of heat-tolerance genes.
Micro-Fragmentation
To speed up growth, the team used 'micro-fragmentation'—breaking corals into tiny pieces, which stimulates a rapid healing response. These fragments grow 40 times faster than normal. When planted back on the reef, they fused together to form mature colonies in just three years.
Ecosystem Return
The restored reef patches have seen a return of fish and invertebrate populations, proving that the lab-grown corals can support a functional ecosystem. The structural complexity of the reef has been restored.
Global Scale-Up
While successful locally, the challenge is scale. Automated 'coral planting robots' are now being developed to plant millions of heat-resistant larvae across thousands of kilometers of reef.
