Jorge Fontes
Marine biologist Jorge Fontes' photograph of a whale shark feeding on a bait ball of snipefish was the overall winner.
Ryan Wagner
A photograph of a scientist giving a kiwikiu a few drops of medicine won in the research in action category.
Victor Huertas
An image of a park ranger assessing coral health at Lady Musgrave Reef in the southern Great Barrier Reef won in the protecting our planet category.
Alwin Hardenbol
A photo of an arctic skua mimicking the flight pattern of a black-legged kittiwake won in the relationships in nature category.
Abhijeet Bayani
A non-pollinating fig wasp depositing its eggs inside the fig won in the life close-up category.
Brandon Güell
A researcher captured collecting a sediment core in the wetlands of the Florida Everglades came runner-up in the research in action category.
Roberto García Roa
A devastating image of a Bonelli’s eagle lying dead beneath the power lines that killed her came runner-up in the protecting our planet category.
Martha Charitonidou
Two long-horned bees captured on a Helen’s Bee orchid came runner-up in the relationships in nature category.
Anusuya Chinsamy-Turan
A thin section of a fossilized dinosaur bone viewed through a microscope came runner-up in the life close-up category.

Editor’s Note: Call to Earth is a CNN editorial series committed to reporting on the environmental challenges facing our planet, together with the solutions. Rolex’s Perpetual Planet Initiative has partnered with CNN to drive awareness and education around key sustainability issues and to inspire positive action.

CNN  — 

Two long-horned bees balancing on a flower, a fossilized dinosaur bone viewed through a microscope and a scientist giving a bird drops of medicine were all captured in stunning photographs that formed part of the 2024 BMC Ecology and Evolution and BMC Zoology Image Competition.

The overall winner, however, was a photograph of a feeding frenzy, in which a whale shark feasts on a bait ball of snipefish that have been herded into tight groups by tuna.

The winning image was captured off Portugal’s Azores islands by marine biologist Jorge Fontes, who works at Okeanos-UAc, Institute of Marine Sciences, where he is studying the impact of fishing on the ocean’s largest animals, according to a BMC press release Friday.

“With the baitfish gathered together, the whale sharks use powerful suction to fill their huge mouths with food. This feeding partnership between sharks and tunas is rare elsewhere but common in these islands when both are present,” Fontes said in the release.

Edwar Herreño Parra
A whale shark swims alongside the Sharkwater research vessel, a ship that was initially used by the Japanese fishing fleet but is now used for research. Cocos Island, Costa Rica

Photography finalists showcase the ‘wonder and fragility’ of world’s oceans

“You can almost hear the chaos of this scene, juxtaposed with the slow glide of the whale shark,” said BMC Ecology and Evolution senior editorial board member Christy Hipsley. “Swirls of fish navigate to avoid each others’ mouths, dangerously distracting them from the largest one of all.”

“It tells a fascinating story and highlights the need for further research to understand the impact of human activities, such as the tuna industry, on whale sharks,” said Jennifer Harman, editor of BMC Ecology and Evolution.

Winners and runner-ups from across the globe were also selected in four categories: Research in action; relationships in nature; protecting our planet and life close-up.

Click through the gallery at the top of the page to view the images.