Introduction -- Seeing corals with Darwin's eyes of reason -- The reef sulphur cycle: influence on climate and ecosystem services -- Symbols at War: The impact of Corallium rubrum in the Indo-Pakistani subcontinent -- Ethnobiology of Corallium rubrum: Protection, healing, medicine, and magic -- Corals and coralline organisms in Seri culture: Traditional and modern uses -- Puka Mai He Ko'a: The significance of corals in Hawaiian culture -- Coral gardens of the Dumo people of Papua New Guinea: a preliminary account -- The catch of Maui: Coral gardens in the past and present of the Tongan islands -- Change in Roviana Lagoon coral reef ethnobiology -- Rocky reefs: Preserving biodiversity for the benefit of the communities in the Aquarium of the World -- Conservation of corals in the Colombian Caribbean.