Scientists ‘read’ the messages in chemical clues left by coral reef inhabitants

What species live in this coral reef, and are they healthy? Chemical clues emitted by marine organisms might hold that information. But in underwater environments, invisible compounds create a complex ‘soup’ that is hard for scientists to decipher. Now, researchers have demonstrated a way to extract and identify these indicator compounds in seawater. They found metabolites previously undetected on reefs, including three that may represent different reef organisms.
Read Original Article: Scientists ‘read’ the messages in chemical clues left by coral reef inhabitants »