Presented by National Geographic Society in partnership with Rolex. Coral reefs support a quarter of all marine life, but rising ocean temperatures are pushing many toward collapse. Marine biologist Anya Brown is exploring a surprising idea: that corals may help each other survive. By placing heat-tolerant colonies next to more vulnerable ones, she’s seen dramatic increases in survival. Her research suggests corals may share beneficial microbes through their mucus-like skin. Now working from a makeshift lab in the Cook Islands, Brown is scaling her experiments to better understand how these relationships could help protect reefs. Rolex and the National Geographic Society are partnering on science-based expeditions to explore, study, and document change in the planet’s unique regions. Discover more about Anya Brown’s research at the link in bio. #PerpetualPlanet Photograph by giacomo_dorlando