French underwater photographer and biologist Laurent Ballesta’s shot of a rare underwater spawning that only takes place around a full moon once a year has been named as the overall winner.
Here are some more of the winning images from this year’s competition, which will be exhibited at the Natural History Museum, London, from Friday (October 15).
17. Winner, Oceans: The Bigger Picture - Nursery meltdown by Jennifer Hayes,
Jennifer Hayes (USA) records harp seals, seal pups and the blood of birth against melting sea ice. Following a storm, it took hours of searching by helicopter to find this fractured sea ice used as a birthing platform by harp seals. ‘It was a pulse of life that took your breath away,’ says Jennifer. Every autumn, harp seals migrate south from the Arctic to their breeding grounds, delaying births until the sea ice forms. Seals depend on the ice, which means that future population numbers are likely to be affected by climate change. Photo: Jennifer Hayes
18. Winner, Behaviour: Amphibians and Reptiles - Where the giant newts breed by João Rodrigues, Portugal
João Rodrigues (Portugal) is surprised by a pair of courting sharp-ribbed salamanders in the flooded forest. It was João’s first chance in five years to dive in this lake as it only emerges in winters of exceptionally heavy rainfall, when underground rivers overflow. He had a split second to adjust his camera settings before the newts swam away. Found on the Iberian Peninsula and in northern Morocco, sharp-ribbed newts (or salamanders) are named after their defence strategy. They use their pointed ribs as weapons, piercing through their own skin and picking up poisonous secretions, then jabbing them into an attacker. Photo: João Rodrigues