Last year’s BMC Ecology and Evolution image competition attracted substantial attention from researchers and the wider public. Over 160 international media outlets highlighted the winning images, including CNN, Live Science, BBC Science Focus, Popular Science, Newsweek, Gizmodo, El País, MailOnline and National Geographic España.

Don’t miss your chance to highlight your research, win prizes and have your images featured on the BMC Ecology and Evolution and BMC Zoology websites. The winners will also be announced via an editorial published in BMC Ecology and Evolution.

The competition provides a fantastic opportunity to showcase research and the beauty of nature to a broad audience. Anyone affiliated with a research institution working within the field of Ecology, Evolutionary Biology or Zoology is eligible to enter one image into each of the following four categories:

1. Research in action. Images that showcase ecological, evolutionary biology or zoological research or capture experiences of conducting studies and collecting data.

2. Protecting our planet. Photos conveying efforts to support and raise awareness of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or the UN Decade on Ecosystem restoration:

• • SDG6.6: Protect and restore water-related ecosystems
  • SDG14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
  • SDG15: Protect, restore, and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and biodiversity loss.
  • 2021-2030 United Nations Decade of Ecosystem Restoration

3. Relationships in nature. Photos depicting symbiosis, including parasitism, plant-fungi relationships, plant-pollinator interactions, mimicry, mutualism, commensalism, cleaning symbiosis, and co-evolutionary relationships.

4. Life close up. Photos displaying biology that is not often seen using close-up or macro photography.

Judging and prizes

Judging the competition will be members of the BMC Ecology and Evolution and BMC Zoology senior Editorial Board, along with Jennifer Harman (the Editor of BMC Ecology and Evolution) and Marie-Therese Nödl (the Editor of BMC Zoology). The journals will award the overall winner €800, and the winner for each of the four categories €200. The journal will also award €50 to the runner up for each category. 

How to submit

Please email your images to Jennifer Harman, at jennifer.harman@springernature.com with the subject line “Image Competition 2024” and include the following:

• Your name:
• Affiliation:
• Contact details of Research Institute:
• Twitter handle (optional):
• Category:
• Image name:
• Description (Max. 250 words):
• File type:
• Data attribution (if applicable):
• I agree to release this image under a Creative Commons License: Y/N

Please attach your image entry to your email.

Rules:

• Anyone affiliated with a research institution working within the field of Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, Paleoecology or Zoology is eligible to enter.
• Resolution Requirement: Images must have a minimum resolution of 300dpi (1831 x 1831 pixels for a raster image) and a maximum file size of 10MB.
• File Format: Images must be saved in TIFF, JPEG, or RAW file formats.
• Ownership Rights: The image submitted must be your own, and you must possess the necessary rights to use it.
• Exclusion of AI Generated Images: Images generated using artificial intelligence (AI) will not be considered for the competition.
• Creative Commons Licensing: By entering the competition, you agree to release the images under a Creative Commons license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) in alignment with our open access policies. This allows for file sharing with proper attribution.
• Judging: Winners will be judged by BMC Ecology and Evolution and BMC Zoology Editors and Senior Editorial Board Members. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide feedback to every applicant.

The deadline for entries is the 21st of June 2024, with the winners being announced on August the 16th.