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High post-settlement mortality is thought to be a major limiting factor for the recovery of disturbed coral reef populations, as newly settled corals face a range of physical, chemical, and biological interactions that can inhibit their development. During recruitment, physical interactions are common, with recruits settling on loose substrates likely to be abraded during storm events, while incidental grazing and predation on exposed surfaces may also inflict damage. Nevertheless, larvae have been observed to recruit and survive on substrates where physical damage is likely, possibly owing to their regenerative capacity. Here, we present the first visual time-series evidence of recruit regeneration following physical damage. To investigate regeneration of these recruits, we sliced and removed tissue from individual Acropora millepora coral recruits and tracked their recovery through survivorship and linear growth. Coral …