Inaugural EcoEvo@TCD photo competition

EcoEvo@TCD is getting a new look – one focused around the work we do here in the School of Natural Sciences at Trinity College Dublin. To get a broad picture of what goes on here at Trinity, we’ve put together some photos that represent a range of research and teaching activities from across the school. Check out the full gallery below:


View from the Swiss Alps near the Swiss-French border around Lake Geneva. This photo looks out of the valley from the town of L’Etivaz, where we were staying during fieldwork in June 2017.

Alain Finn is a research assistant in Yvonne Buckley’s research group. Find out more about his work on Twitter | @finchyIrl


A bird is released on Kabaena Island, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia, after having its measurements taken as part of a biogeographical study of the region. Photo credit: Emma Shalvey.

Fionn Ó Marcaigh is a PhD student in Nicola Marples’ research group. Find out more about his work here.


Prof. Yvonne Buckley botanizing in the Burren (alliteration intentional). Photo by Dr. Laura Russo.

Dr. Laura Russo is a postdoctoral research fellow in Jane Stout’s research group. Find out more about her work here. Twitter | @lrusso08


A bee swarm right outside the Trinity College Dublin campus. The gym’s climbing wall can be seen through the glass. An interesting mix of nature and an urban setting. Photo by Sarah Gabel.

Sarah Gabel is a PhD student in Jane Stout’s research group. Find out more about her work here.

In October Andrew Mooney attended the IUCN Conservation Planning Specialist Group and World Association of Zoos and Aquariums Annual Meetings, hosted by Berlin Zoo, Germany. These conferences focused on the role of Zoos and Aquariums in global wildlife conservation and education. He attended as a member of the Species360 team, together with his co-supervisor Dr. Dalia Conde, to showcase the importance of big data to the zoo and aquarium community.


Andrew Mooney is a PhD student in Yvonne Buckley’s research group. Find out more about his work here
. Twitter | @andymooney13


Two friendly anemones in Dog’s Bay, Galway. Photo by Maureen Williams.

Maureen Williams is a PhD student in Ian Donohue’s and Celia Holland’s research groups. Find out more about her work here. Twitter | @MoDubs11


Overseas fieldwork isn’t always glamorous. Standards of accommodation vary in all countries. When you’re working in the tropics it isn’t unusual to be sharing your living space with some of the local fauna and flora.

This photo was taken in an outside mandi (bathroom) on the island of Hoga, part of the Wakatobi Archipelago. While the Wakatobi islands are near to Sulawesi, they have never been connected by a land bridge and so they have many endemic species. Photo by Dave Kelly.

Dr. Dave Kelly is a research fellow in Nicola Marples’ research group. Find out more about his work here.


End of the academic year for the members of the school of Natural Sciences N.E.R.D club run by the Departments of Botany and Zoology. Photo submitted by Maureen Williams.

Maureen Williams is a PhD student in Ian Donohue’s and Celia Holland’s research groups. Find out more about her work here. Twitter | @MoDubs11


A male solitary bee (Halictus rubicundus) covered in the relatively large Epilobium pollen grains while visiting a greater willowherb flower. Photo by Laura Russo.

Dr. Laura Russo is a postdoctoral research fellow in Jane Stout’s research group. Find out more about her work here. Twitter | @lrusso08


Trinity Collehe Dublin’s wealth of trees captures in one photo. Narrow-leaved Ash (Fraxinus angustifolia) and East End 5 from Lincoln Place. Photo by Daniel Kelly.

Dr. Daniel Kelly is an Emeritus Fellow in the Department of Botany. Find out more about his work here.


The amazingly named Fiery Billed Malkoha. We’re describing new subspecies and populations of this species. Different populations show subtle colour differences, so we’re now looking for more obvious genetic ones.

This species is also called the “monkey bird” as it follows the macaques though the forest catching the insects they disturb.

Prof. Nicola Marples is the head of the Behavioural and Evolutionary Ecology research group. Find out more about her work here. 


One of my temperature loggers in the River Shannon as seen from below. You can see a lily pad – and me! – in the background. Photo by Maureen Williams.

Maureen Williams is a PhD student in Ian Donohue’s and Celia Holland’s research groups. Find out more about her work here. Twitter | @MoDubs11


When you’re faced with bald statistics, it can be difficult to grasp their significance. A little innovation with the presentation of numbers can make facts and figures more palatable and more memorable.

This photo was taken to illustrate animal biodiversity to second-year undergraduates. It features familiar items (wheelie bins) in a familiar environment (outside the Pavilion bar, TCD). In order to keep the numbers roughly accurate, each wheelie bin should be considered to be full of Smarties. Photo by Dave Kelly.

Dr. Dave Kelly is a research fellow in Nicola Marples’ research group. Find out more about his work here. 

3rd place in the 2017 EcoEvo@TCD photo competition.

“While we watch the birds, they watch us.” Photo taken in Sulawesi by Nur Fajrhi.

Darren O’Connell is a PhD student in Nicola Marples’ research group. Find out more about his work here. Twitter | @oconned5

2nd place in the 2017 EcoEvo@TCD photo competition.

“Our local guide tells us of riches far far away….” Photo taken in Sulawesi by Nicola Marples.

Prof. Nicola Marples is the head of the Behavioural and Evolutionary Ecology research group. Find out more about her work here. 

Winner of the 2017 EcoEvo@TCD photo competition.

We were visiting one of our high elevation field sites in the Swiss Alps on what turned out to be a damp and misty day. Visibility was less than 20 metres in places. We headed up to the summit via cable car on the off-chance it was above the cloud line – spoiler, it wasn’t! – and while discussing whether to abandon our work for the day, an Alpine Salamander (Salamandra atra) wandered across my path. Photo by Alain Finn.

Alain Finn is a research assistant in Yvonne Buckley’s research group. Find out more about his work on Twitter | @finchyIrl

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