Sparring saigas win 2025 BMC journals Image Competition

A striking photograph of two male saiga antelope sparring on the banks of a steppe lake is the winner of the 2025 BMC Ecology and Evolution and BMC Zoology image competition.

The annual competition spotlights the beauty, struggles, and survival strategies of remarkable life on earth, while celebrating the researchers striving to understand the natural world in the fields of ecology, evolutionary biology, palaeontology, and zoology. Along with the overall winning image, the judges selected winners and runners-up in four categories: Collective Social Behaviour, Life in Motion, Colourful Strategies, and Research in Action.

Overall winner: ‘Sparring Saigas on the Steppe’, Andrey Giljov

The overall winning image this year shows two male saigas (Saiga tatarica) facing off in a sparring match on the open banks of a steppe lake. It was taken by Andrey Giljov, from Saint Petersburg State University, Russia. Saigas are native to the steppes of Central Asia, and are recognisable by their large tubular noses, which help to filter dust and warm cold air.

Andrey Giljov explains that photographing these saigas from the ground required stealth: “We had to set up a camouflaged hide near this so-called social arena. We had to conceal ourselves in the dark to avoid scaring off approaching saigas or making unnecessary noise, otherwise the animals would not come close.” 

Praising the image, BMC Ecology and Evolution Senior Editorial Board Member Christy Hipsley noted the stark visual contrast: “The pastel backdrop and cartoonish faces clash with the impending violence of this moment. Saiga antelopes have survived the Ice Age, habitat destruction, and human poaching. Will these males survive to the breeding season?” Senior BMC Ecology and Evolution Editorial Board Member David Ferrier commended the composition of the moment: “This was a challenging image to capture. It wonderfully conveys the energy of the battle, alongside the striking appearance of these animals.”

Collective and Social Behaviour winner: ‘Nymphs and Nature: A Close-Up Journey’, Sritam Kumar Sethy

A photograph of a cluster of newly-hatched nymphs of Acanthocoris scaber on a leaf was the winner in the Collective and Social Behaviour category. Sritam Kumar Sethy from Berhampur University, India, captured the image of the nymphs clustering on the leaf’s underside, which offers a safe space with higher humidity for the bugs to grow and moult.

Sritam Kumar Sethy explains: “By coming together, they enhance their protection against predators, reducing the chances of any individual becoming prey. This collective arrangement also provides better access to vital resources like food and moisture, which is crucial during their vulnerable early stages of life.”

An unusual act of nurturing is depicted in the runner-up image for this category, as a mother burying beetle (Nicrophorus vespilloides) feeds her larvae on the carcass of a mouse. Nick Royle, from the University of Exeter, UK, captured the image.

Life in Motion winner: ‘Pterosaurs in flight over the Jurassic Hebridean Basin’, Natalia Jagielska

An  artistic reconstruction of three pterosaurs in flight over the former Jurassic Hebridean Basin was the winner of the Life in Motion category. Natalia Jagielska, of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, China, reconstructed the body morphology of Dearc sgiathanach from fossils analysed through X-ray microtomography to imagine how the pterosaur may have flown and hunted in life.

Natalia Jagielska explains: “When compared to other recently discovered pterosaurs from the area, Dearc serves as an important ‘stepping stone’ in the evolution of pterosaurs, illustrating a gradual transition towards larger, more land-capable morphologies.”

A remarkable photo of a breaching humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) captured from a boat in Varanger, Norway, was selected as the runner-up image in the category. Alwin Hardenbol, from the Natural Resources Institute Finland, Finland, had only a few seconds to capture the image.

Colourful Strategies winner: ‘Deimatic Beetle’s Eye for an Eye’, Abhijeet Bayani

Abhijeet Bayani, from the Indian Institute of Science, India, captured a ‘head on’ shot of a beetle’s threatening display to win the Colourful Strategies category. The visual trick is called a deimaticcdisplay and aims to scare or confuse predators by making the insect appear bigger or more threatening than it really is.

Abhijeet Bayani said: “When I first found the beetle, it appeared to just be a drab-looking insect. But as I began photographing it from the front, the beetle seemed to perceive my camera lens as a predator. It suddenly turned jet black and bright yellow — whenever I changed camera angles, it manoeuvred its bull-like face to confront the lens.” Bayani reports that the beetle even headbutted the camera lens.

The near-indistinguishable camouflage of an Asian grass frog (Fejervarya limnocharis) against the rugged bark of a tree is barely visible in the runner-up image for the category, providing it with the perfect camouflage to avoid predators and ambush prey. Sritam Kumar Sethy, from Berhampur University, India, took this image.

Research in Action winner: ‘Radio-Tagging to study one of the UK's rarest beetles’, Nick Royle

A male blue ground beetle (Carabus intricatus) waiting to be fitted with a backpack-like radio tag won the Research in Action category. Nick Royle, from the University of Exeter, UK, took the photo during a field tagging session, which allows the research team to track the insect’s movements and behaviour as it searches for food and mates.

BMC Ecology and Evolution senior editorial board member Carmel McDougall commented: “This is a beautiful photo that highlights how advances in technology can support the collection of essential data to inform conservation strategies for vulnerable species.”

A camera trap image of a family of capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) nesting in Scotland’s Cairngorms was submitted by Jack Bamber, from the University of Aberdeen, UK, and was selected as the runner-up image for this category.

Honourable mentions and highlights

This year’s 2025 BMC Ecology and Evolution and BMC Zoology image competition also features a selection of images which, while not winning in their categories, were identified as being notable standouts for the competition and received acclaim from the panel.

‘The Lookout’; Alwin Hardenbol

A moment of pause as a barnacle goose (Branta leucopsis) takes stock of its surroundings is captured in a striking image submitted to the Collective and Social Behaviour category. The photo depicts the goose keeping lookout for potential predators during a migratory stopover in Finland en route to the coasts of Western Europe. Alwin Hardenbol, from Natural Resources Institute Finland, Finland, captured the image.

‘Spot me if you can’; Jonathan Golden

Another candidate in the Colourful Strategies category that was highly commended by the panel was a photo of a jewelled gecko (Naultinus gemmeus) balancing on the branch of a tree. Jonathan Goldenberg, from the University of Oslo, Norway, notes that the gecko’s emerald-green skin “mirrors the sunlit leaves of native shrubs on the Otago peninsula.”

All the winning images are open access, are freely available for use under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY) license, and can be downloaded from the Springer Nature press site.

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Notes to editors:

The joint BMC Ecology and Evolution and BMC Zoology image competition is the third iteration of this contest, following on from the BMC Ecology and Evolution image competition (2021–2023), and the BMC Ecology image competition (2013–2020). Like its predecessors, the competition gives ecologists, evolutionary biologists, zoologists, and palaeontologists the opportunity to use their creativity to showcase their research and explore the intersection between art and science. The winning images are selected by the Editors of the two journals and senior members of the journals’ Editorial Boards.

BMC Ecology and Evolution, formerly known as BMC Evolutionary Biology, is an open access, peer-reviewed journal interested in all aspects of ecological and evolutionary biology. The journal considers articles on a broad range of topics, including population genetics, conservation genetics, phylogenetics, behavioural ecology, population ecology, macroecology, palaeontology, biodiversity (e.g. environmental DNA approaches), theoretical research (e.g. terraforming), and ecological and evolutionary developmental biology.

BMC Zoology is an open access, peer-reviewed journal that considers articles on all aspects of zoology. This includes comparative physiology, mechanistic and functional studies, morphology, life history, animal behaviour, signalling and communication, cognition, parasitism, systematics, biogeography, and conservation.