Winners of the 7th annual BMC Ecology Image competition, clockwise from top left: Overall winner (David Costantini), runner up (S S Suresh ), Editors pick (Nayden Chakaro)

In celebration of the recent launch of BMC Ecology and Evolution, we are delighted to announce our inaugural BMC Ecology and Evolution image competition! Submit your images for a chance to highlight your research, win prizes, and have your photography featured in the journal.

Its predecessor, the BMC Ecology Image competition, ran for a successful 7 years, attracting substantial attention not just from ecologists but also from the wider public, featuring in international media outlets such as the Guardian, IFL Science, Scientific American, and the BBC.

Send us your most stunning images showcasing the beauty of ecology and evolutionary biology research

The image competition is your opportunity to celebrate your research and show off your photographic talent.

Anyone affiliated with a research institution is eligible to enter. We invite you to submit to one of the following six categories:

• Evolutionary developmental biology and biodiversity
• Behavioural ecology
• Human evolution and ecology
• Ecological developmental biology
• Conservation Biology
• Population ecology

Judging and prizes

Judging the competition will be members of the BMC Ecology and Evolution editorial board, along with Dr Jenny Harman, the Editor of the journal, picking the best image for each category. The overall winner will receive a cash prize of €300, while the runner-up will receive €150.  Additional prizes of €75 will be awarded for the best images submitted to each category and also the Editors pick.

How to submit              

Please email your images to the Editor, Jenny Harman, at jennifer.harman@springernature.com with the subject line “BMC Ecology and Evolution Image Competition” and include the following :

1. Name:
2. Category:
3. Image:
4. Description (Max. 300 words):
5. File type:
6. Data attribution (if applicable):
7. Affiliation:
8. Contact details of Research Institute:
9. I agree to release this image under a Creative Commons License:  Y/N
10. Twitter handle (optional):

Please attach your image entry to your email. All images must conform to the following criteria:

• A minimum 300dpi (1831 x 1831 pixels for a raster image).
• In one of the allowable formats – EPS, PDF (for line drawings), PNG, TIFF, JPEG, BMP, DOC, PPT [Please note that it is the responsibility of the author(s) to obtain permission from the copyright holder to reproduce figures or tables that have previously been published elsewhere.]

In line with our policies on open access, entry to the competition implies release of the images under a creative commons license, to allow file sharing with proper attribution.

Submit your images now!

We’ll be posting regular updates on the competition in the coming months, so don’t forget to keep up to date by reading our blog or by following us on Twitter @BMC_series

Closing date for entries is the 1^st July 2021, with winners being announced in August 2021.

Good luck!