In a breathtaking display of nature’s intricate drama captured through the lens of scientific curiosity and artistic vision, the 2025 joint BMC Ecology and Evolution and BMC Zoology image competition has announced its winners. This prestigious contest, now in its third year in combined form, continues to celebrate the stunning diversity of life on Earth and the vital research efforts that enhance our understanding of ecological and evolutionary processes. The competition highlights the profound intersection between science and visual storytelling, showcasing images that not only captivate but also reveal the complexities of animal behavior, evolutionary biology, and conservation.
The overall winning image, entitled ‘Sparring Saigas on the Steppe’ by Andrey Giljov of Saint Petersburg State University, Russia, presents an evocative moment of interaction between two male saiga antelopes (Saiga tatarica) on the open banks of a Central Asian steppe lake. Recognizable by their distinctive bulbous nasal structures, these antelopes have evolved this unique adaptation as a specialized respiratory filter to cope with dusty environments and extreme temperature fluctuations. Giljov’s photograph masterfully conveys the tense energy of a sparring match, highlighting the species’ behavioral ecology during the breeding season.
Capturing this extraordinary natural behavior required considerable stealth and technical expertise. Giljov recounts that the team established a camouflaged hide near what they refer to as a “social arena,” meticulously concealed in darkness to avoid disturbing the animals. Saigas, known for their skittishness toward human presence, demand such unobtrusive observation strategies, which are fundamental in behavioral ecology studies aiming to document authentic interactions without anthropogenic influence. This approach underscores the synergy of scientific rigor and patience essential in wildlife photography.
Expert commentary from the senior editorial members of BMC Ecology and Evolution underscores the potency of the image. Christy Hipsley reflects on the stark juxtaposition captured: a pastel-hued, serene backdrop against the imminent violence of territorial combat. Such imagery embodies the relentless challenges faced by saigas, a species having endured Ice Age climatic shifts, habitat degradation, and intense poaching pressures. The image invites a poignant question of survival and resilience amidst anthropogenic threats. Meanwhile, David Ferrier praises the photograph’s composition, emphasizing how it encapsulates the raw energy of inter-male competition and the morphological distinctiveness of these enigmatic antelopes.
The competition further honored remarkable contributions across four specialized categories, each representing themes aligned with contemporary ecological and evolutionary research. The Collective and Social Behaviour category winner was a detailed macro photograph of newly hatched nymphs of Acanthocoris scaber, captured by Sritam Kumar Sethy from Berhampur University, India. This image reveals the adaptive significance of clustering behavior in nymph stages, providing enhanced protection against predation and optimized access to resources such as moisture critical for exoskeletal development. Sethy’s work illuminates early survival strategies fundamental to insect life histories, emphasizing intraspecific cooperation.
Complementing Sethy’s insights, the runner-up in this category features a nurturing mother burying beetle (Nicrophorus vespilloides) feeding her larvae on a decomposing mouse carcass. This behavior exemplifies sophisticated parental care among insects with complex social structures, shedding light on evolutionary adaptations in resource allocation and reproductive success. Nick Royle from the University of Exeter, UK, whose photograph earned this recognition, highlights how such detailed observations contribute to understanding the evolutionary ecology of insect life cycles.
The Life in Motion category winner presents an artistic yet scientifically grounded reconstruction of three pterosaurs in flight over the Jurassic Hebridean Basin, created by Natalia Jagielska of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Utilizing fossil data analyzed through X-ray microtomography, Jagielska’s work reconstructs the body morphology of Dearc sgiathanach, providing hypotheses about its aerodynamic capabilities and predatory behaviors. This research exemplifies the integration of paleontological data and modern imaging technologies to elucidate evolutionary transitions, revealing how these prehistoric reptiles adapted to terrestrial and aerial niches in the Middle Jurassic.
A remarkable photograph capturing a breaching humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) in Norway earned a runner-up position in this category, highlighting the challenges of documenting dynamic marine mammal behaviors in situ. Alwin Hardenbol, from the Natural Resources Institute Finland, had mere seconds to seize this display of cetacean agility and power, which informs studies on whale migration, social interaction, and responses to environmental variables.
Colorful Strategies is another cluster of evolutionary marvels celebrated in this competition. Abhijeet Bayani of the Indian Institute of Science received top honors for his close-up image of a deimatic display in a beetle species. The beetle employs aposematic signaling — sudden color changes and threatening postures — to deter predators, a vivid example of evolutionary arms races and visual communication in insects. Bayani narrates the beetle’s aggressive headbutting behavior toward the camera, an extraordinary insight into how insect sensory perception and behavioral repertoires operate under predation threat.
Runner-up status in this category was awarded to an image capturing the near-invisible camouflage of an Asian grass frog (Fejervarya limnocharis) against tree bark. The photograph, taken by Sritam Kumar Sethy, elegantly spotlights crypsis as a survival tactic, serving dual purposes in predator avoidance and prey ambush. Such visual strategies are pivotal focal points in evolutionary biology and ecology, informing theories on natural selection and habitat specialization.
The Research in Action category shines a spotlight on technological advances facilitating ecological fieldwork. Nick Royle’s winning image depicts a male blue ground beetle (Carabus intricatus) poised for fitting with a miniature radio tag, enabling detailed monitoring of its spatial movements and behavioral ecology. This technique embodies a critical methodological evolution in entomological studies, allowing real-time data gathering on elusive species crucial for informing conservation strategies. The emphasis on integrating technology to address conservation challenges is a continuing theme in modern biodiversity sciences.
Runner-up in Research in Action features an evocative camera trap image of a capercaillie family (Tetrao urogallus) nesting in Scotland’s Cairngorms. Submitted by Jack Bamber of the University of Aberdeen, this image underscores the utility of unobtrusive monitoring tools in documenting life history traits and breeding success in vulnerable avian species, thereby enhancing ecological data quality for conservation planning.
Beyond the winners, several honorable mentions provide captivating glimpses into life’s diversity and intricacies. Among these is ‘The Lookout’ by Alwin Hardenbol, portraying a barnacle goose (Branta leucopsis) vigilant during its migratory stopover in Finland. The frame captures the evolutionary trade-offs of migratory birds balancing energy expenditure with predation risk. Jonathan Goldenberg’s ‘Spot me if you can’ photograph of a jewelled gecko (Naultinus gemmeus), acclaimed in the Colourful Strategies category, epitomizes the evolutionary refinement of cryptic coloration mirroring native foliage, reinforcing the evolutionary interplay between phenotype and environment.
All competition finalists and winners are freely accessible under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license, fostering open scientific communication and public engagement with the beauty and complexity of ecological and zoological phenomena. This open-access policy aligns with the broader mission of Springer Nature to disseminate scientific knowledge widely, particularly in advancing understanding related to key Sustainable Development Goals focusing on water, life below water, and life on land.
The BMC Ecology and Evolution and BMC Zoology image competition not only celebrates stunning imagery but also bridges research disciplines encompassing population genetics, conservation biology, behavioral ecology, systematics, paleontology, and biodiversity informatics. As the competition continues to grow in prestige and participation, it emphasizes the power of imagery as a scientific communication tool, inspiring both the academic community and the wider public to appreciate and protect our planet’s rich biological heritage.
Subject of Research: Animals
Article Title: 2025 joint BMC Ecology and Evolution and BMC Zoology image competition: the winning images
News Publication Date: 15-Aug-2025
Web References: DOI link
Image Credits: Andrey Giljov (overall winner, Sparring Saigas on the Steppe), Sritam Kumar Sethy, Natalia Jagielska, Nick Royle, Alwin Hardenbol, Abhijeet Bayani, Jack Bamber, Jonathan Goldenberg
