Covering less than 0.1 per cent of the ocean surface, coral reefs support 25 per cent of all marine life. But according to Unesco, 21 of 29 World Heritage reefs have been damaged through heat stress and bleaching.

In warmer or polluted waters, corals expel algae, which provide sustenance through photosynthesis; the corals then turn white and can die if the water temperature remains high.

Following the latest bleaching, the world’s largest coral reef ecosystem, parts of the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Queensland, Australia, is estimated to have lost two-thirds of its corals, mainly in the northern section.

The newly developed method is being used to monitor the recruitment success of newly settled corals through an artificial process whereby microscopic larvae are raised in floating coral nursery pools and released en masse on reefs damaged by the impacts of climate change to kickstart their recovery.

“Coral recruitment occurs at a scale invisible...