But Daniel Harris, from the University of Queensland’s School of Earth and Environmental Sciences has warned the reefs that act as an important barrier could be lost in a devasting blow to Pacific nations that could soon be wiped out.
Dr Harris, who during the course of his research studied the waves of Tahiti and Moorea, said the absence of coral could in turn trigger a huge increase in wave size, which coupled with rising sea levels could result in damage to vulnerable shores.
He said: “That suggested that you don’t need to wait until the end of the century to have really devastating impacts on the coastline on tropical coasts, you just need widespread reef decline.
“And that can happen relatively quickly, and a lot quicker than a rising sea level.”
Dr Harris said that made it all the more important to work to protect the remaining coral reefs, explaining: “The study shows that you don’t need higher sea levels for there to be coastal erosion, just the loss of healthy coral reefs.
Dr Alessio Rovere from the MARUM Center for Marine Environmental Sciences at the University of Bremen and the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Research, also contributed to the study.
He said: “We examined wave processes at coral reefs in Moorea and Tahiti in French Polynesia, and modelled future wave heights near the coastline by changing variables such as coral reef health and sea level.
“The findings suggest that actively maintaining the health of coral reefs could reduce some of the negative impacts of sea level rise on tropical coastlines.”
In January, the Australian government has announced a £34million plan to help improve the health of the Great Barrier Reef.
The reef suffered mass coral bleaching events in 2016 and 2017, which scientists said were a result of warmer ocean temperatures.
It has also endured damage from crown-of-thorns starfish and cyclones.
The bleaching – or loss of algae – affects a 1,500km (900 miles) stretch of the reef, according to scientists.
Sir David Attenborough has also expressed concern about the risk posed to coral across the world.