Award-Winning Photos Show Just How Breathtaking Biology Can Be

The 10 images represent some of the best nature photography in the world.

You've probably never seen a group of tadpoles look so beautiful.

The winning photos in the inaugural Royal Society Publishing photography competition offer an unprecedented look at some of the often overlooked nuances of the natural world.

The competition celebrates using photography to communicate science, and more than 1,000 photo entries from around the world vied for top honors. The image awarded first place showcases swimming tadpoles and offers an artistic glimpse into amphibian metamorphosis.

The entries were judged by evolutionary biologist Alex Badyaev, editor for Proceedings B Innes Cuthill, and Biology Letters editorial board member Claire Spottiswoode.

Have a look at the 10 winning photos below. Enjoy!

Overall Winner and Category winner: Ecology and Environmental Science
Bert Willaert
A group of common toad, Bufo bufo, tadpoles.
Runner up: Ecology and Environmental Science
Martha M. Robbins
Gorillas in Rwanda, outside of the Volcanoes National Park.
Special commendation: Proceedings B Publisher's choice
Evan D'Alessandro
A single colony of the giant Caribbean brain coral, Colpophyllia natans.
Category winner: Behaviour
Claudia Pogoreutz
A school of tropical clupeid fish exhibiting synchronized swimming behavior to avoid a teenage black-tip reef shark.
Runner up: Behaviour
Luca Antonio Marino
An adult wild-bearded capuchin monkey, Sapajus libidinosus, using a stone tool to crack a palm nut.
Category winner: Evolutionary Biology
Ulrike Bauer
The leaves of the water fern Salvinia molesta.
Runner up: Evolutionary Biology
Fabio Pupin
Bitis peringueyi, a venomous viper species camouflaged in the Nabib desert.
Special commendation
Steve Gschmeissner
Argulus, a fish louse that has been shown to be a well-adapted parasite.
Special commendation
Davide Gaglio
A baboon at Cape Point Reserve, South Africa.
Special commendation: Biology Letters publisher's choice
Jose Juan Hernandez Martinez, Spain
A houbara bustard bird, Chlamydotis undulata, in the Canary Islands.

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