The famed corals of the Great Barrier Reef face a bleak future under the current path of global warming but could have time to adapt if temperatures edge no higher than 2C, new modelling suggests.

The "coral-centric" analysis from the University of Queensland builds on existing modelling focused on ocean temperatures high enough to trigger mass bleaching events.

In reality, UQ professor Peter Mumby and study co-author said warm-water coral ecosystems were more complex and adaptive.

"Essentially, what we have been using to guide our prediction of what the fate of reef says in future has kind of ignored the coral biology in the coral ecosystem," he told AAP.

Certain coral species and reef areas are more resilient to heat than others and are able to help nearby reefs recover before the ne

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