By Andrew Darby, Hobart

THE first evidence suggests that a predicted rise of atmospheric carbon dioxide will wreak havoc on krill, the tiny crustacean at the heart of the Antarctic food web.

Although public sympathy for the crustacean is undetectable, polar life such as penguins, seals and whales would wither without it.

Captive-bred krill at the Australian Antarctic Division developed deformities and lost energy when they were exposed to the greenhouse gas at levels predicted globally for the year 2100.

The damage meant that the krill were unlikely ever to breed, a University of Tasmania investigator, Lilli Hale, said yesterday.

Polar life, from tiny seabirds through penguins and seals to whales, depend for food on Antarctic krill, Euphasia superba.

A loss of krill suggested there would be a catastrophic impact on these other species, Ms Hale said.

The krilling fields: study fears catastrophe in Antarctic food chain