Using magnetic resonance spectroscopy and mass spectrometry metabolomics, researchers identified metabolites in blue crab urine that influence the behavior of mud crabs, which are prey for blue crabs; in behavioral experiments the introduction of the metabolites--trigonelline and homarine--at concentrations found naturally in blue crab urine reduced mud crab foraging by 60% and 67%, respectively, findings with potential implications for unraveling chemically mediated community structuring in marine environments, according to the authors.
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Article #17-13901: "Chemical encoding of risk perception and predator detection among estuarine invertebrates," by Remington X. Poulin et al.
MEDIA CONTACT: Julia Kubanek, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA; tel: 404-894-8424, 404-723-0589; e-mail: < julia.kubanek@biosci.gatech.edu >
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences