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An image of a flying Dalmatian pelican, taken by Alwin Hardenbol, was awarded the overall winner in the British Ecological Society’s annual photo contest, “Capturing Ecology”.
Winning images and 16 other highly lauded images, shot by ecologists and international students, celebrate the diversity of ecology; capturing flora and fauna from around the planet. Subjects range from a showdown between a roadrunner and a rattlesnake, flamingos feasting at sunset, and a close-up of a friendly Labor.
On his winning image, Alwin, a graduate student at the University of Eastern Finland, said: “I gave this image the title The art of flight due to how impressive this bird’s wings are in the photo, you can almost see the bird flying in front of you despite it being a still image.
“I used a technique called panning which involves using a slow shutter speed and moving the camera along with the bird as it flies. In a perfect scenario, the background and most of the bird will show blurry movement but the head should be sharp. I took thousands of photos, and although most of them failed, I was very happy with this shot. “
Winning such a competition as an ecologist gives me the opportunity to continue combining my research with my passion for nature photography.
Professor Jane Memmott, president of the British Ecological Society, commented: “The photograph perfectly captures the movement, grace and beauty of the bird. Pelicans were one of my favorite birds to watch on ocean travels when I was working in Costa Rica as a graduate student and this image reminds me of those days. An inspiring photograph to take and a deserving winner. “
“As always, the standard of photography is impressive and it was a fun job to go through them all. I congratulate all the winners and thank all the participants for their contributions, ”said Jane.
Alwin also won the “People and Nature” category with an image of an internationally vulnerable black-legged kittiwake, nesting on a decrepit building in Varanger, Norway.
The overall winner of the student is Pablo Javier Merlo, who is studying Biology at the Nacional University of Córdoba, Argentina. Pablo’s image captures a large dark swift perched on the steep rock faces of Argentina’s Iguazu Falls. These birds, known as “waterfall swifts” in Latin America, can be found flying between 80-meter-high waterfalls.
Pablo said: “The Iguazu National Park is of considerable importance as it protects a very diverse natural ecosystem and the rapid waterfall is an important icon of Iguazu and its diversity.
“I am very grateful to have been selected as one of the winners and feel motivated to continue learning about photography, which is an excellent tool for showing the wildlife of our planet and how it relates to its environment.”
The independent jury included six well-respected photographers, including eminent ecologists and award-winning wildlife photographers.
Among them was Gabriela Staebler, who has a career in wildlife photography that has spanned 30 years. He said: “The extraordinary images show not only great photographic skills, but love and emotion for wildlife. With their impact on people they will contribute to the conservation of nature. Congratulations to the photographers!”
To see more winning images follow us on Instagram and Twitter.
Full list of winners:
Overall winner: Alwin Hardenbol, University of Eastern Finland
The art of flight: An overview of a Dalmatian pelican in flight (Pelecanus crispus). An internationally threatened bird species.
Runner-up: Pichaya Lertvilai, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego
Hatching: Paralarvae of Octopus bimaculatus emerging from their egg sacs. The emerging paralarvae still carried their yolks with them for the first few days of their new journey.
Second place: Upamanyu Chakraborty, no affiliation
Tale of ants: Weaver ants are social animals. This photograph is a close-up of a weaver ants colony where the ants transport their immature members to a safer location.
Overall Student Winner: Pablo Javier Merlo, Nacional University of Córdoba, Argentina
Rapid waterfall: The old Cypseloides is a species of swift known in Latin America literally as “Waterfall swift”. It is located on the steep rock faces (up to 80 meters high) of the Iguazu Falls, frequently flying near and through these falls offering a unique spectacle.
Category 1 – Up close and personal
An image that shows the complexity of nature using macro or close-up photography.
Winner: Michal Smielak, University of New England, Australia
Breath. To adapt. Relax.: Bearded Chameleon (Rieppeleon brevicaudatus), with its rather disappointing “beard” made up of a few raised scales. The species is endemic to the mountains of the eastern arc of Tanzania and Kenya. This was spotted during a night walk in the Udzungwas.
Winning Student: Lauren Henly, University of Exeter
look into my eyes: This humphead wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus) swam up to me at the end of a dive on the Great Barrier Reef and looked me directly in the eye.
Category 2 – Dynamic ecosystems
Demonstration of interactions between different species within an ecosystem.
Winner: Peter Hudson, Penn State University
The rattle dance of the Roadrunner: A roadrunner dances around a western diamond-backed rattlesnake, keeping its wings and feathers uncovered with the body hidden, thus minimizing death should the snake strike.
Winning student: Sam J England, University of Bristol
In the lion’s den: A jumping spider (family Salticidae) sits at the edge of its lair, built on the underside of a fallen leaf in the rainforests of Costa Rica, triumphantly feasting on its unfortunate insect prey.
Category 3 – Individuals and populations
A unique look at a species in its environment, alone or as part of a population.
Winner: David López-Idiáquez, Center for Functional and Evolutive Ecology (CEFE-CNRS) and the University of the Basque Country
Last meal of the day: At the salt marshes of Villeneuve-lès-Maguelone near Montpellier (France), a group of greater flamingos (Phoenicopterus roseus) feed shortly before the end of the day.
Winning student: Elena Racevska, Oxford Brookes University
I see you: A nightjar from Madagascar (Caprimulgus madagascariensis), having a day rest.
Category 4 – People and nature
An interesting and original interpretation of the relationships between people and nature.
Winner: Alwin Hardenbol, University of Eastern Finland
Housing for the threatened, In Varanger, Black-legged Kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) often like to nest on decrepit buildings. It is quite a fascinating behavior for this internationally vulnerable bird species.
Winning student: Elena Racevska, Oxford Brookes University
This is our playground, As day turns to night, enchanted tourists gathered to witness the grandeur of the baobabs amidst a deep-colored sunset. The trees were tall and silent, as they have done for centuries. Suddenly, as if out of nowhere, two children appeared. Rolling through this theater of fading light and shadow. Claiming their playground.
Category 5 – Ecology in action
A showcase for the practice of ecology in action
Winner: Peter Hudson, Penn State University
Wolf Charm: My student Ellen is observed by enthralled visitors to Yellowstone as she examines one of her study animals, a wolf killed in a struggle for dominance. This female was exiled from the Junction Butte pack after killing the pups of the alpha female, her sister.
Winning Student: James Orr, Trinity College Dublin
Steady flow: This photograph is a panorama consisting of multiple long exposure photographs of the Milky Way over an experimental flow system made up of 128 mesocosms. As part of my PhD, I helped conduct a multiple stressors experiment by testing the individual and combined effects of different climate change stressors on freshwater food webs. Each of the 128 mesocosms, or middle worlds, had a different ecosystem from bacteria to fish. The pumps constantly pushed water from the nearby river to eight main water tanks and then down through our mesocosms for five weeks straight, day and night.
Category 6 – The art of ecology
A creative and original vision of photography that denotes ecology
Winner: Roberto García Roa, University of Valencia
Mouth: A Cope’s Vine Snake (Oxybelis brevirostris) shows a conserved behavior of some reptiles through Squamata phylogeny. Despite being harmless, they have no venom, these snakes open their mouths to scare off predators when they are discovered. Although they are not used to attacking, they move quickly with their mouths open offering a scenario that many animals eventually decide to abandon.
Winning student: Sanne Govaert, Ghent University
Common nettle: Urtica dioica it is a species often considered a pest. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
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