The Origin of the SCAR Programme "Evolution and Biodiversity in the Antarctic" by Guido di Prisco and Pete Convey -- Southern Ocean DeepSea Isopod Biodiversity Research: From Census to Ecosystem Functioning by Angelika Brandt -- The TUNUProgramme: EuroArctic Marine Fishes-Diversity and Adaptation by Jørgen S -- Christiansen -- SeaIce Interactions with Polar Fish: Focus on the Antarctic Silverfish Life History by Marino Vacchi, Philippe Koubbi, Laura Ghigliotti and Eva Pisano -- Connectivity and Molecular Ecology of Antarctic Fishes by Filip A.-M -- Volckaert, Jennifer Rock and Anton P -- Van de Putte -- Phylogeny and Systematics of Antarctic Teleosts: Methodological and Evolutionary Issues by Guillaume Lecointre -- Evolutionary Adaptation and Disaptation in the Cold: the Icefish Paradigm by Bruno Tota, Daniela Amelio, Filippo Garofalo and Daniela Pellegrino -- Aspects of Protein Cold Adaptation in Antarctic Fish by Craig Marshall -- Understanding Adaptations and Responses to Change in Antarctica: Recent Physiological and Genomic Advances in Marine Environments by Lloyd S -- Peck, Melody S -- Clark -- The Challenges of Low Temperature in the Evolution of Bacteria by Guido di Prisco, Daniela Giordano, Roberta Russo and Cinzia Verde -- The Adaptive Evolution of Polar Fishes Lessons from the Function of Hemoproteins by Cinzia Verde, Daniela Giordano, Roberta Russo and Guido di Prisco. The poles undergo climate changes exceeding those in the rest of the world in terms of their speed and extent, and have a key role in modulating the climate of the Earth. Ecosystems adapted to polar environments are likely to become vulnerable to climate changes. Their responses allow us to analyse and foresee the impact of changes at lower latitudes. We need to increase our knowledge of the polar marine fauna of continental shelves, slopes and deep sea, as identifying the responses of species and communities is crucial to establishing efficient strategies against threats to biodiversity, using international and cross-disciplinary approaches. The IPY 2007-2009 was a scientific milestone. The outstanding contribution of Marine Biology is reflected in this volume and the next one on "Adaptation and Evolution in Marine Environments - The Impacts of Global Change on Biodiversity" from the series "From Pole to Pole", making these volumes a unique and invaluable component of the scientific outcome of the IPY.