The science of ecology helps us make sense of the natural world and our place in it.  Ecologists see the world with a unique perspective, and our Image Competition allows them to share their viewpoint with the rest of us.

The combination of artistry and science on display here is truly amazing.  From a majestic desert, to a tender pair of baboons, to storks in a trash pile, these images are all interesting representations ecological interactions, captured expertly.

Anyone affiliated with a research institute was invited to participate and the images were judged by the BMC Ecology Section Editors and our Guest Judge, Dr. Ana Porzecanski, Director of the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation at the American Museum of Natural History.

We had so many wonderful entries this year and choosing a winner was a challenge.  Find out how the winners were chosen in our editorial, where our judges offer explanations for their selections.  Be sure to check it out, as we have also featured a series of “Highly Commended” images that are not to be missed.

These winning images all have been released under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), so everyone is welcome and encouraged to share them freely, while attributing the image author.

For more background on our winning image, please see our blog post featuring an interview with Mohamed Shebl from Suez Canal University, who talks about his research with different pollinators.

We’ll be posting more “stories behind the image” from our winners in the coming weeks, so please be sure to check the BMC Series blog for more detail about these amazing photographs.