The British Ecological Society photography competition – in pictures

Overall runner-up

Ant Tale by Upamanyu Chakraborty. Weaver ants’ social behaviour taken in a backlit situation. A weaver ant colony is a great example of social behaviour among the animal kingdom, with their role as ‘ecosystem engineers’

Photograph: Upamanyu Chakraborty/2020 British Ecological Society photography competition
Overall runner up

Hatching by Pichaya Lertvilai (Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego). The paralarvae of the California two-spot octopus hatching from their egg sacs. The egg yolks attached to their mouths will sustain them for a short period before they have to start hunting to survive

Photograph: 2020 British Ecological Society photography competition
Overall student winner

Waterfall Swift by Pablo Javier Merlo (Nacional University of Cordoba (Argentina). Cypseloides senex is a species of swift known in Latin America as a waterfall swift. It can be found on the steep rocky walls of the Iguazu Falls, flying near and through the waterfalls

Photograph: British Ecological Society photography competition
Overall winner

The Art of Flight by Alwin Hardenbol (University of Eastern Finland). A panning shot of a Dalmatian pelican in flight. The picture was taken on Lake Kerkini in Greece

Photograph: Alwin Hardenbol/British Ecological Society photography competition
Up close and personal category winner

Breath. Adapt. Relax by Michal Smielak (University of New England, Australia). A bearded leaf chameleon, with its rather underwhelming ‘beard’ consisting of just a few raised scales. The species is endemic to the Eastern Arc mountains of Tanzania and Kenya. This one was spotted during a night walk in the Udzungwa mountains in Tanzania

Photograph: Michal Smielak/2020 British Ecological Society photography competition
Up close and personal category student winner

Look Into My Eye by Lauren Henly (University of Exeter). This humphead wrasse swam up to the photographer at the end of a dive on the Great Barrier Reef

Photograph: Lauren Henly/British Ecological Society photography competition
Dynamic ecosystems category winner

The Roadrunner’s Rattler Dance by Peter Hudson (Penn State University). A roadrunner dances around a western diamondback rattlesnake, keeping its wings out and feathers exposed with its body hidden, to minimise the chances of death if the snake were to strike

Photograph: Peter Hudson/2020 British Ecological Society photography competition
Dynamic ecosystems category student winner

Into the Lion’s Den by Sam England (University of Bristol). A jumping spider sits at the edge of its den, constructed on the underside of a fallen leaf in the rainforests of Costa Rica, and feasts on its insect prey

Photograph: Sam England/British Ecological Society photography competition
Individuals and populations category winner

Last Meal of the Day by David Lopez-Idiaquez (Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE-CNRS) and the University of the Basque Country). At the saltworks of Villeneuve-les-Maguelone in the vicinity of Montpellier in France, a group of greater flamingos feed just before the end of the day

Photograph: David Lopez-Idiaquez/British Ecological Society photography competition
Individuals and populations category student winner

I See You by Elena Racevska, (Oxford Brookes University). A Madagascan nightjar having a daytime rest

Photograph: Elena Racevska/British Ecological Society photography competition
People and nature category winner

Housing for the Threatened by Alwin Hardenbol (University of Eastern Finland). In Varanger, Norway, black-legged kittiwakes often like to nest on decrepit buildings

Photograph: Alwin Hardenbol/British Ecological Society photography competition
People and nature category student winner

This Is Our Playground by Elena Racevska, (Oxford Brookes University). As the day turned to night, mesmerised tourists gathered to witness the baobabs’ grandeur amid a deep-coloured sunset

Photograph: Elena Racevska/British Ecological Society photography competition
Ecology in action category winner

Wolf Fascination by Peter Hudson (Penn State University). Grad student Ellen is watched by fascinated visitors to Yellowstone national park as she examines one of her study animals, a wolf killed in a fight for dominance. This female was exiled from the Junction Butte pack after she had killed the pups of the alpha female, her own sister

Photograph: British Ecological Society photography competition
Ecology in action category student winner

Constant Flow by James Orr (Trinity College Dublin). This photograph is a panorama made up of multiple long-exposure photographs of the Milky Way above an experimental stream system made up of 128 mesocosms. As part of his PhD, Orr helped to run a multiple-stressor experiment testing the individual and combined effects of different climate-change stressors on freshwater food webs. Each of the 128 mesocosms, or medium worlds, had a diverse ecosystem from bacteria to fish

Photograph: James Orr/2020 British Ecological Society photography competition
The art of ecology category winner

Mouth by Roberto Garcia-Roa (University of Valencia). A Cope’s vine snake shows a conserved behaviour of some reptiles across the Squamata phylogeny. Despite being harmless and having no venom, these snakes open their mouths to scare predators when they are discovered

Photograph: Roberto Garcia-Roa/British Ecological Society photography competition
The art of ecology category student winner

Common Nettle by Sanne Govaert (Ghent University).Urtica dioica is a species often considered a weed. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Photograph: Sanne Govaert/2020 British Ecological Society photography competition