BMC Ecology and Evolution Image Competition 2023

We are pleased to announce the launch of our third BMC Ecology and Evolution image competition! Submit your images and the stories behind them for a chance to highlight your research, win prizes, and have your photography featured in the journal.

Published in Ecology & Evolution

BMC Ecology and Evolution Image Competition 2023
Like

Share this post

Choose a social network to share with, or copy the URL to share elsewhere

This is a representation of how your post may appear on social media. The actual post will vary between social networks

We are pleased to announce the launch of our third BMC Ecology and Evolution image competition! Submit your images and the stories behind them for a chance to highlight your research, win prizes, and have your photography featured in the journal.

Winner of the 2022 BMC Ecology and Evolution image competition. The story of a conquest. The fruiting body of a parasitic fungus erupts from the body of its victim. Attribution: Roberto García-Roa.

Last year’s competition attracted substantial attention from researchers and the wider public. International media outlets highlighted the winning images, including ScienceNew Scientist, Science News, Live Science, Gizmodo, National Geographic España, CNN, The Telegraph, and MailOnline. We were also delighted to see the winning image, 'The story of a conquest' taken by Roberto García Roa, featured in Nature’s best science images of 2022. To learn more about last year’s winners, please read our editorial.

The competition provides a fantastic opportunity to showcase research and the beauty of nature to a broad audience. Anyone affiliated with a research institution is eligible to enter one image into each of the following four categories:

  1. Research in action. Images that showcase ecological or environmental biology research or capture experiences of conducting studies and collecting data.
  2. Protecting our planet. Photos conveying efforts to support and raise awareness of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):
    - SDG6.6: Protect and restore water-related ecosystems
    - SDG14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
    - and SDG15: Protect, restore, and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and biodiversity loss.
  3. Plants and Fungi. Photos depicting:
    - The importance of plants and fungi in ecosystems
    - The extraordinary way plants and fungi have evolved to attract insects to reproduce and ensure survival.
    - Extinction risk and threats to plants and fungi.
  4. Paleoecology. Images which provide glimpses into long-lost worlds (e.g., fossil assemblages, microfossils, paleohistology and paleoart).

Judging the competition will be members of the BMC Ecology and Evolution editorial board, along with Jennifer Harman, the Editor of the journal. The journal will award the overall winner €800, and the winner for each of the four categories will receive €200. The journal will also award €50 to the runner up for each category.

How to submit your images and the stories behind them:

Please email your images to the Editor, Jennifer Harman, at jennifer.harman@springernature.com with the subject line “BMC Ecology and Evolution Image Competition 2023” and include the following:

Your name:
Affiliation:
Contact details of Research Institute:
Twitter handle (optional):
Category:
Image name:
Description (Max. 250 words):
File type:
Data attribution (if applicable):
I agree to release this image under a Creative Commons License: Y/N

Please attach your image entry to your email.

All images must conform to the following criteria:

  • A minimum 300dpi (1831 x 1831 pixels for a raster image).
  • In one of the acceptable formats – EPS, PDF (for line drawings), PNG, TIFF, JPEG, BMP, DOC, PPT [Please note that it is the responsibility of the author(s) to obtain permission from the copyright holder to reproduce figures or tables that have previously been published elsewhere.]
  • In line with our policies on open access, entry to the competition implies releasing the images under a creative commons license to allow file sharing with proper attribution.

Submit your images now!

We’ll be posting regular updates on the competition in the coming months, so don’t forget to keep up to date by reading our blog or by following us on Twitter @BMC_series

The closing date for entries is the 1st of June 2023, with winners announced in August 2023.

Good luck!

Please sign in or register for FREE

If you are a registered user on Research Communities by Springer Nature, please sign in

Follow the Topic

Ecology
Life Sciences > Biological Sciences > Ecology

Related Collections

With Collections, you can get published faster and increase your visibility.

Evolutionary biomechanics

Evolutionary biomechanics is an interdisciplinary field that integrates biology, physics, and engineering to understand the mechanical principles governing movement, function, and adaptation across diverse species. By examining how anatomical structures evolve in response to mechanical demands, researchers can uncover the adaptive strategies that enable species to survive and thrive in their environments.

This Collection will highlight research on the biomechanics of movement in extant and extinct animals, from invertebrates to large vertebrates, across land, water and air. By linking biomechanics with ecological interactions and evolutionary processes, studies in this field provide key insights into locomotion, musculoskeletal function, movement ecology, and the energetic costs of life in different environments.

Topics of research may include but are not limited to:

Musculoskeletal biomechanics and locomotion

Comparative biomechanics

Biomechanics of soft-bodied and flexible organisms

Movement ecology and migration

Locomotion in complex environments

Predator-prey interactions and functional morphology

Insect biomechanics

Adaptation and evolutionary biomechanics

Bio-inspired robotics and engineering

Advances in biomechanical methodologies

This Collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 15: Life on Land and SDG 14: Life Below Water.

Publishing Model: Open Access

Deadline: Jan 12, 2026

Ecology of soils

BMC Ecology and Evolution invites researchers to submit their work on soil ecosystems and their implications for environmental sustainability. Soils are living, dynamic systems that support a vast array of organisms, from tiny microbes to plants and animals. They play a vital role in keeping our planet healthy by recycling nutrients, storing carbon, and helping regulate water and climate. Understanding how soil life functions and adapts is essential for tackling major environmental challenges like climate change, habitat loss, and soil degradation.

This collection of articles aims to showcase the latest research in soil ecology, emphasizing the interactions among soil organisms, biogeochemical processes, and ecosystem functions across various landscapes. We invite submissions that explore the following topics:

Microbial and faunal diversity in soils: Patterns, drivers, and functional roles of bacteria, fungi, protists, and invertebrates

Soil biogeochemistry and ecosystem functioning: Nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration, and soil health in both natural and managed ecosystems

Soil-plant interactions: Rhizosphere processes, plant-microbe symbioses, and their effects on vegetation dynamics

Land use and climate change impacts on soil communities: Responses of soil biodiversity and functions to agricultural intensification, urbanization, pollution, and climate shifts

Soil metagenomics, phylogenetics, and functional ecology: Advances in molecular approaches for studying soil microbial and faunal communities

Conservation and restoration of soil ecosystems: Strategies for maintaining soil biodiversity and ecosystem services in degraded landscapes

All manuscripts submitted to BMC Ecology and Evolution, including those submitted to collections and special issues, are assessed in line with our editorial policies and the journal’s peer review process. Reviewers and editors are required to declare competing interests and can be excluded from the peer review process if a competing interest exists.

This Collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 15: Life on Land.

Publishing Model: Open Access

Deadline: Jun 02, 2026