For the first time, Reef Renewal Foundation Bonaire (RRFB) has successfully collected spawn from pillar coral (Dendrogyra cylindrus) and raised young corals through its breeding program. Pillar coral is critically endangered and has been devastated by diseases and bleaching, with only a handful of colonies remaining on Bonaire. For species like pillar coral, now too rare to reproduce naturally, restoration offers one of their only chances at survival.
20 August 2025
(Bonaire, Dutch Caribbean) — In a historic first for Bonaire, Reef Renewal Foundation Bonaire (RRFB) collected spawn from the critically endangered pillar coral (Dendrogyra cylindrus) last week. The young corals will soon be transferred into underwater nurseries, where they will be carefully monitored as they grow before returning to the reef.
Pillar coral populations on Bonaire have declined sharply in recent years due to the spread of SCTLD and consecutive marine heatwaves, leaving only scattered colonies that are often too far apart to reproduce naturally. As the “canary of the reef,” this species is highly sensitive to ocean change and often the first to show signs of stress. Without intervention, pillar coral faces functional extinction on the island – as has already happened in Florida and elsewhere in the Caribbean.
“Helping pillar corals reproduce here is more than just a milestone for us— it’s a lifeline for a species that is vanishing from Bonaire’s reefs,”
– RRFB Lead Restoration Technician Cheyenna de Wit.
Last week’s success underscores the critical role of active coral restoration. While improving water quality and reducing local stressors are essential, they cannot alone save dying species like pillar coral.
Growing research has shown that coral breeding and fragmentation, techniques that underpin RRFB’s work, can give corals a better chance to survive changing ocean conditions. In two recent landmark studies, scientists found that heat-tolerance can be passed from parent corals to their offspring, and that young, lab-reared corals show greater resilience to bleaching than wild colonies.1,2
By applying these research-backed techniques at scale, RRFB produces tens of thousands of young corals each year. In addition to pillar coral, their team produced 56,000 staghorn coral larvae last week and raised over 26,000 young grooved brain coral earlier this year.
This work is made possible through the support of Openbaar Lichaam Bonaire (OLB) and the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Quality, and Nature (LVVN) via the Nos ta Biba di Naturalesa project. It’s also part of a collaboration with SECORE International and FUNDEMAR aimed at testing new coral breeding technologies across the Caribbean.
1. Roach, T. N. F., et al. (2025). Intergenerational metabolomic signatures of bleaching resistance in corals. Nature Communications, 16, 5971. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-61102-8
2. Miller, M. W., et al. (2024). Assisted sexual coral recruits show high thermal tolerance to the 2023 Caribbean mass bleaching event. PLOS ONE, 19(9), e0309719. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0309719
About Reef Renewal Foundation Bonaire
Reef Renewal Foundation Bonaire is a non-profit organization focused on strengthening Bonaire’s biodiverse coral reefs as they face mounting challenges in the Caribbean. In collaboration with research partners and regional practitioners, RRFB uses researched-based techniques to increase the abundance and genetic diversity of vulnerable coral populations. Today, with the help of 17 partner dive operators around the island and a dedicated team of volunteers, RRFB has outplanted over 70,000 corals back to the reef, covering an area of over 13,000 square meters.
To learn how to get involved or lend support, please visit www.reefrenewalbonaire.org or email info@reefrenewalbonaire.org.
Photos and Captions
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