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Researchers have found a way of rescuing damaged coral reefs — by transplanting organisms from a healthy neighbor.

The team, based at Bar-Ilan University, central Israel, say a Coral Reef Ecosystem Transplant (aCRET) can significantly boost the coral’s resilience and physiological function.

Coral reefs, often referred to as the “rainforests of the sea,” face huge threats from climate change, pollution and over-fishing. Half of all the world’s coral reefs have been lost since the 1950s, say scientists.

The pioneering Bar-Ilan study offers new hope for the surviving coral reefs, which cover less than 1 percent of the ocean floor but provide homes to approximately 25% of all known marine species.

The researchers collected invertebrates and microorganisms from a healthy reef site in the southern part of the Gulf of Eilat/Aqaba for their experiment.

They submerged specially designed 25cm by 25cm terracotta tiles to attract a diverse collection of organisms that they could then transplant. They retrieved them six months later, encrusted with sediment from the reef’s ecosystem. 

They then transplanted the tiles to a reef 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) away that had suffered damage. Within six months they saw notable improvements in the coral’s health, photosynthetic efficiency, and stress levels.

Corals may look like plants, but they are, in fact, animals — collections of numerous individual creatures called polyps, each with a mouth and tentacles to capture food.

“This research advances our understanding of coral restoration and provides an invaluable tool to help address the ongoing global coral crisis,” said Prof. Oren Levy, from the university’s Faculty of Life Sciences, who jointly led the study.

“By using healthy ecosystems to regenerate damaged reefs, we can work towards more resilient, sustainable coral ecosystems that may one day recover from climate change and other threats.”

The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, suggests aCRETs is a cost-effective, sustainable technique that could protect and restore coral ecosystems alongside existing restoration strategies methods like coral gardening and artificial reefs.

“This innovative approach underscores the critical role of healthy reef ecosystems in restoring coral health and resilience,” said lead researcher Natalie Levy.

The study was a collaboration with Prof. Ezri Tarazi of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, and Prof. David Bourne of James Cook University in Australia and the Australian Institute of Marine Science.

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