A theme of this year’s competition was the interaction of nature with human activity and manmade technology, which produced some unique images.
Some very enjoyable moments were captured when the animal subjects seem to acknowledge or even pose for the camera—such as the enthusiastic proboscis monkey seen by David Constantini (Additional file 8), or the herd of waterbuck that give a skeptical gaze at the motion-capturing camera set up in the Gorongosa National Park (Additional file 9). Matthew Palmer described this scene as “a wonderful serendipitous moment—captured without an actual photographer but with lovely composition. This image also illustrates both citizen science and the recovery of wildlife following armed conflict.”
Similarly, Lawrence Reeves used an ultraviolet light to attract a swarm of moths, creating a remarkably composed image that not only recreates the behavior of moths in nature but also demonstrates a practical tool used by field researchers, to keep the moths away from their equipment (Additional file 10). In another unusual application of technology in ecological research, Jean-Luc Jung and colleagues visualized the “acoustic fat” of a porpoise head using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), which generated an eerie image resembling a human face (Additional file 11).
While the wren in Fig. 3 is an example of nature “reclaiming” human-made spaces, in some cases human spaces are intentionally built around nature—such as the bridge dwarfed by its surrounding bamboo plants at the National Coffee Park in the rural area of Montenegro, Quindío, Colombia, in the submission from Arnubio Valencia Jimenez (Additional file 12).
Finally, another recurring theme in this year’s winning images was the notable human efforts toward ecological conservation. In Bethany Clark’s image (Additional file 13), a tracking tag on a gannet’s leg aids studies of the behavior and travel patterns of individuals and populations, in order to better evaluate management options.