If you need a gentle reminder that our planet is utterly mind - blowing , look no further .
The winner of the 2017 BMC Ecology Image Competition have been harbinger , showcasing everything from glorious spacious landscape to the tiniest of insects . All of these image come from substantial scientific research in advancement in the bailiwick . Now in its 5th year , the rival was set up to show off the often underappreciated convergence between art and science .
The overall winning image was a portrait of giant South American polo-neck ( Podocnemis expansa ) by Ana Carolina Lima from the University of Aveiro in Portugal . She managed to captivate the shot while carrying out preservation research for this species in the Cantão State Park , of Tocantins , Brazil .
" This image provides a rarified , multilayered view from above . The photo is well write , technically sound , and rich with wonderful geometry , ” guest judge Chris Darimont , of the University of Victoria , Canada , say of Lima ’s winning image ina argument .
The first runner - up was something a little different to the overall success . Christin Säwström of Edith Cowan University , Western Australia woo the judges with her image " Two towers " ( below ) of the dream - similar Antarctic landscape near the Davis station in June 2004 .
utter about this photo , Chris Darimont commented the image is “ not astute in the low brightness environment , an effect that give it a wintertime dreamy smell . Also , because of its soft edges , it resemble a house painting . Owing to this uncertainty , it invites close and sustained exam . Whether by conception or happenstance , this is a rarefied overture that produced an arresting paradigm . ”
Second offset - up was an image by Roberto García - Roa of the University of Valencia , Spain title " Connections " ( below ) showing a crab spider , a bee , and a parasitic fly .
" Its title sums up what I care best here , " Darimont said . " Typically in pictures with animals , one is draw to the center of the tumid , charismatic subjects , in this case , the spider or bee . In this prototype , however , the whiz is the small tent flap . This parasite , saddlery sharp , dominate the attention it deserves as a major player in this interaction and in ecosystems in general . ”
hold back out some of the other Highly Commended entries below .
