The BMC Ecology and Evolution and BMC Zoology image competition has unveiled its latest winners, celebrating remarkable photographs that capture nature's incredible ability to survive and thrive in challenging environments. Researchers from institutions around the world submitted stunning images that demonstrate the diverse strategies animals employ to adapt, compete, and flourish in their natural habitats.
The overall winner was captured by Andrey Giljov, a Senior Lecturer at Saint Petersburg State University, whose photograph shows two male saigas engaged in combat on the steppes of Central Asia. These distinctive animals, famous for their enlarged noses, were photographed during spring fighting season when males practice their combat skills outside of the main tournament period. "Saiga fights in spring, outside of the tournament season, are quieter and more about training than determining status. However, the males take every opportunity to practice," explains Giljov. To capture this ground-level perspective, the research team had to construct a camouflaged hide near what they call a "social arena," concealing themselves in darkness to avoid frightening the approaching animals or creating unnecessary noise that would drive them away.
The competition featured four distinct categories: Collective and Social Behavior, Life in Motion, Colorful Strategies, and Research in Action. Any researcher affiliated with an academic or research institution was eligible to participate, ensuring a diverse range of scientific perspectives and photographic subjects.
In the Collective and Social Behavior category, Sritam Kumar Sethy, a student at Berhampur University, claimed first place with his remarkable image of newly hatched nymphs of Acanthocoris scaber clustered tightly together on the underside of a leaf. Sethy explained the scientific significance of this grouping behavior: "By coming together, they enhance their protection against predators, reducing the chances of any individual becoming prey. This collective arrangement also provides better access to vital resources like food and moisture, which is crucial during their vulnerable early stages of life." The runner-up in this category was Associate Professor Nick Royle from the University of Exeter, whose photograph captured a mother burying beetle feeding her developing larvae on a mouse carcass, regurgitating processed meat to her begging offspring. "This behavior normally occurs underground, so is not usually visible to us, but is here pictured in the lab where these burying beetles are used as a model to understand the evolution of social behaviors such as parental care," Royle noted.
The Life in Motion category showcased dynamic representations of animal movement, with the winning entry created by digital artist Natalia Jagielska, a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Her artistic rendering depicts pterosaurs in flight above the ancient Jurassic Hebridean Basin. "The Jurassic Hebridean Basin once covered what is now Scotland. This water body formed a pathway to the Boreal Sea, an area currently known as the North Pole," Jagielska explained. Her image, set 170 million years ago in the Middle Jurassic period, portrays these flying reptiles hunting along the shoreline, specifically featuring two pterosaur species: Dearc, with its impressive 2.5-meter wingspan, and the smaller, crested Ceoptera. "Despite their differing cranial anatomies, teeth morphology, and wing shapes, these pterosaurs could interact and compete for food during periods of environmental stress," she added.
The runner-up in Life in Motion was captured by Alwin Hardenbol, a Postdoctoral researcher at the Natural Resources Institute Finland, who photographed a breaching humpback whale from a small boat in Varanger, Norway. "To photograph breaching properly, you need to be at the ready constantly as it happens very spontaneously, and the best moments are over in just a few seconds," Hardenbol explained. He noted that breaching remains scientifically fascinating because its exact purpose is still debated among researchers, with theories including communication, play, or the removal of skin parasites. The behavior creates remarkably loud sounds, particularly underwater, that can be heard from considerable distances. "It's unbelievable to imagine how such an animal can even jump out of the water like that. To achieve a nice breach (90% out of the water), humpback whales must move around 29 kilometers per hour," he observed, noting that these marine giants can weigh up to 40 metric tons.
Dr. Abhijeet Bayani from the Indian Institute of Science won the Colorful Strategies category with his striking image of a beetle demonstrating what scientists call "deimatic displays." These visual tricks help beetles scare or confuse potential predators by suddenly revealing eyespots or markings that resemble large eyes, making them appear larger or more threatening than they actually are. "These displays are a great example of how insects use color as part of their survival strategy," Bayani noted. The runner-up in this category was again Sritam Kumar Sethy, whose photograph of a perfectly camouflaged frog demonstrated nature's mastery of disguise. "The frog's camouflage serves a dual purpose: it helps evade predators such as snakes and birds while also providing the perfect disguise for ambushing prey," Sethy explained. "With patience and precision, it hunts small insects, millipedes, and worms, relying not on speed but on invisibility and timing."
The Research in Action category highlighted the intersection of scientific methodology and wildlife photography. Nick Royle from the University of Exeter won this category with his photograph of a male blue ground beetle (Carabus intricatus), captured during a spring night in a temperate rainforest in southwest England. The image shows the beetle waiting in a falcon tube before being fitted with a miniature, backpack-like radio tag that allows researchers to track its movements and behavior over two weeks as it searches for food and mates. The runner-up was Jack Bamber, whose camera-trap image from Scotland's Cairngorms captured a mother capercaillie carefully watching over her brood of four young birds as they take a dust bath. This image was part of a non-invasive monitoring study of capercaillie, a ground-nesting bird species at severe risk of extinction in the United Kingdom, with fewer than 600 individuals remaining.
Several images received highly commended status, showcasing the breadth of natural phenomena captured by researchers. Alwin Hardenbol contributed another striking image showing vast flocks of Barnacle Geese during their annual autumn migration from Arctic breeding grounds to wintering sites along Western Europe's coasts, with Finland serving as a crucial stopover point where the birds rest and refuel for their 2,000-mile journey. Delip K. Das from the University of Groningen captured an intense mid-air battle between two Brahminy Kites fighting over a freshly caught eel, while Jonathan Goldenberg from the University of Oslo photographed a jeweled gecko nestled in the shrubs of New Zealand's Otago Peninsula.
The competition results have been published by BMC Ecology and Evolution, serving not only as a showcase of exceptional wildlife photography but also as a testament to the dedication of researchers worldwide who combine scientific inquiry with artistic vision to document and understand the natural world's remarkable diversity and resilience.
