High temperatures affect the algae itself. Transferring the algae to another live coral (bleached coral is alive) a) already happens in nature, if conditions return to normal b) does not protect the algae
replyI think the article says they just haven't tested other cases. I wouldn't expect the symbiotic microalgae to be that picky.
replyEdit - The article makes Okkef's point, I just missed it.
The article says otherwise.
reply> Fragments from different species and even different animals of the same species did not fuse together, and so did not nurse the bleached piece back to health.
Sounds like a solution is still well within our reach. Normally I wouldn’t suggest something as extreme as using cloning techniques to restore wild creatures, but of course it was extreme actions that got us here in the first place, so I think this balances it out.
replyWe don’t use cloning enough IMO.
replyWe use cloning plenty - most fruits we eat are clones, and it has some drawbacks (see Cavendish bananas).
replyWe could create a bank of coral clones tagged to each individual location.
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