The photo, taken by Ryan Wagner of Washington State University, shows researchers attaching a radio transmitter to a northern red-legged frog near Portland, Oregon. Using radio telemetry, they track frog movements and habitat use to inform efforts to improve habitat connectivity and support the construction of a frog underpass beneath Route 30, where thousands of frogs are killed each spring during migration.

The image highlights practical conservation solutions for amphibians, one of the world's most threatened vertebrate groups. According to the IUCN's State of the World's Amphibians report, two in five amphibian species are threatened with extinction (IUCN Red List of Threatened Species) (Figure 2).

Every winter, the cold, nutrient-rich waters of South Australia's Upper Spencer Gulf host the world's only known mass aggregation of giant Australian cuttlefish (Sepia apama), with tens of thousands gathering to court, compete and spawn.

Photographed by Victor Huertas, Adjunct Research Fellow at James Cook University, Australia, this image captures a moment of intense competition as a dominant male blocks a rival's approach to a nearby female. These confrontations are fought not with sound but through rapid changes in colour and pattern used to signal, intimidate and defend.

Huertas explains, "Tens of thousands converge here to compete, court and spawn, turning the seafloor into a theatre of colour and conflict. Captured in the wild heart of this globally unique aggregation, this image freezes an ancient contest, one repeated for millennia in these waters alone, and increasingly vulnerable to a changing ocean. It's a reminder that some of the planet's most astonishing wildlife events are still unfolding, right here, right now. Yet even aggregations of this scale are not invincible: reports this season point to unusually much lower numbers gathering in the area, a sobering sign of how fragile even large-scale natural phenomena can be" (Figure 3).

Relationships in nature: Runner-up

A Brown Goshawk (Accipiter fasciatus), a forest raptor that preys on birds, mammals, reptiles and large insects, finds itself outnumbered. Despite being a skilled predator, the raptor is harassed by a group of Noisy Friarbirds (Philemon corniculatus), highly social honeyeaters known for their aggressive territorial behaviour. The friarbirds surround the goshawk with close passes and swooping attacks in an effort to drive it away. 

Alwin Hardenbol, a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Natural Resources Institute Finland, who submitted the image, explains, "A Brown Goshawk is being mobbed by Noisy Friarbirds in Mulligans Flat Woodland Sanctuary, Australia. Mobbing is a common anti-predator behaviour in birds, in which typically smaller species harass a potential predator through repeated calls, close approaches and swooping flights. This behaviour can alert other birds to danger, discourage hunting attempts, and sometimes drive the predator from the area” (Figure 4).

Research in action: Best in category

Three undergraduate students sort through the contents of a beach seine net, carefully counting fish and invertebrates collected from the shallow coastal waters of New Brunswick, Canada. Captured by Liam Brennan of the University of New Brunswick, this image was selected as the winner of the Research in Action category for its beautiful depiction of the next generation of ecologists at work. 

 The students were participating in the university's Marine Semester programme, where undergraduates design and conduct their own field-based research projects, gaining practical experience in data collection, species identification and ecological monitoring. 

"Time in the field is important in offering students a hands-on understanding of both the challenges and rewards of field-based ecological research," says Brennan, who photographed the scene while working as a graduate teaching assistant. Brennan continued, “The project depicted in this photo wanted to better understand how fish community structure changed seasonally relative to environmental parameters. Every week, this group of students took out a five-metre fishing net, dragged it through the water, then pulled it up to shore to see what fish they caught. There were several sculpin species (Myoxocephalusspp.), winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus), and several other fish species that were regularly caught in the nets" (Figure 5). 

Allen Tian, a postdoctoral researcher affiliated with Queen’s University in Canada and Hangzhou Normal University and Zhejiang University in China, captured this "little planet" projection of the Long Sault Parkway, a 10.1 km route linking eleven islands in Lake St. Lawrence, while conducting an environmental DNA (eDNA) biodiversity survey.

Allen comments, "These Islands were formed from submerged hilltops following the construction of the Moses-Saunders Power Dam in the 1950s. This photo serves as a visual record of the significant impact of human activity on the environment. The creation of this waterway caused severe fragmentation of historically interconnected aquatic ecosystems and displaced thousands of residents. Today, the parkway serves as a bridge between the disruptions of the past and present conservation efforts. Protected from further development, the area now serves as a vital bird sanctuary, demonstrating the potential for sustainable land management and ecological recovery."

Captured during his field season on the St. Lawrence River, the image shows research combining high-resolution drone surveys of riparian vegetation and shoreline integrity with non-invasive eDNA sampling. As Allen notes, "we can continuously assess the health of aquatic communities without disturbing the ecosystem further"  (Figure 7).

Protecting our planet: Runner-up

A tiny Olive Ridley turtle hatchling looks up to a human hand upon release. Photographed by Abhijeet Bayani, a biologist at MES Abasaheb Garware College, India, the image celebrates conservation action driven by local communities. 

Along India's west coast, Olive Ridley turtles often nest solitarily rather than in the mass nesting events for which the species is best known. When protected from disturbance and predation, these scattered nests can achieve remarkably high hatching success. Community-led conservation efforts have therefore become an important lifeline, with local people safeguarding nests and helping ensure that hatchlings reach the sea. 

"The release of hatchlings is not just a biological milestone, but an emotional one," says Bayani. "It brings a profound sense of joy and ownership to people, and a renewed promise of continuity to the species." After waiting several days for an unpredictable hatching event, Bayani captured this fleeting moment as a hatchling emerged and was carefully handled before release.

Highly commended