"Until recently, it was widely assumed that as the oceans warm due to climate change, coral will bleach and die off worldwide," said Jessica Carilli from ANSTO's Institute for Environmental Research.
"This would have very serious consequences, as loss of live coral - already observed in parts of the world - directly reduces fish habitats and the shoreline protection reefs provide from storms," Dr Carilli said.
"The research findings give hope that, even though warming of the oceans is already occurring, coral that has previously withstood anomalously warm water events may do so again."
The findings, published on Sunday in the scientific journal PLoS ONE, support previous laboratory and observational studies on the Great Barrier Reef.
Because the reef stretches over a huge distance, with some areas having stable temperatures and others not, the research suggests a mixed result from ocean warming.
-AAP