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Amazing Ecology: Award-Winning Photos of Wildlife

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Ant Chat

Ants meet and communicate

(Image credit: Sylvain Dubey (University of Lausanne))

Frog Escape!

Frogs and duck jump

(Image credit: Thomas Jensen (Medical Prognosis Institute, Denmark))

Two frogs jump for their lives as a duck hops up on the rock where they were resting in this BMC Ecology commended photo.

Confrontational Birds

Birds preen during a border confrontation with other birds

(Image credit: Yitzchak Ben Mocha (Tel Aviv University))

Arabian babbler (Turdoides squamiceps) group preening in front of a neighboring group during a border confrontation.

Singing Cricket

Cricket in a green funnel

(Image credit: Michael Siva-Jothy (University of Sheffield).)

“This cricket was singing at dusk at the edge of secondary forest in Borneo. He had crawled into the natural funnel of a ginger plant which was being used to amplify the sound of the song," photographer Michael Siva-Jothy said of this photo, which was highly commended by BMC Ecology.

Hanging On

Crab on turtle

(Image credit: Maristella D'Addario (University of Rome))

This BMC Ecology commended photo shows a small crab,Planes minutus (Columbus crab), living on an individual of Caretta caretta (Loggerhead Sea Turtle).

Parasite-Ridden Caterpillar

caterpillar killed by parasites

(Image credit: György Csóka (Forest Research Institute Hungary))

The caterpillar of the gypsy moth Lymantria dispar killed by the parasitic wasp Glyptapantheles liparidis. The wasp lays eggs in the caterpillar, and its larvae develop inside, killing the unfortunate creature.

Shiny Squid

Squid squeezing its prey

(Image credit: Miguel Cabanellas (Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies).)

A European squid (Loligo vulgaris) squeezes its prey, a bream (Sparus aurata) in its arms. This photo was highly commended in the 2013 BMC Ecology photo contest.

Pretty in Purple

Bug on flower

(Image credit: Anne Ebeling (University of Jena).)

The photo "Multitrophic interactions in action" was highly commended by the journal BMC Ecology.

Gruesome Perch

Bird perching on a jawbone

(Image credit: Matteo Lattuada (University of Antwerp))

A bird perches on a jawbone in this 2013 BMC Ecology commended photo. "People are trying to create reserves and refugees for animals. But the encroachment due to sprawling of cities highlights the problem of saving either one or another species, because in a restricted area often it is not possible to conserve all the species occurring inside," said photographer Matteo Lattuada.

Understanding Ecology

Ecology gradient, BMC Ecology

(Image credit: Raf Aerts (Univeristy of Leuven).)

"During a field mission to Ethiopia, I gave an introduction to gradient analysis for researchers at Jimma University, with whom we investigate the effects of coffee cultivation on the diversity and community structure of epiphytic orchids, birds and trees in evergreen moist Afromontane forests," said photographer Raf Aerts of the University of Leuven.

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Stephanie Pappas
Stephanie Pappas
Live Science Contributor

Stephanie Pappas is a contributing writer for Live Science, covering topics ranging from geoscience to archaeology to the human brain and behavior. She was previously a senior writer for Live Science but is now a freelancer based in Denver, Colorado, and regularly contributes to Scientific American and The Monitor, the monthly magazine of the American Psychological Association. Stephanie received a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of South Carolina and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz.