2023 Photo Competition Winners

Here it is, the ever anticipated results of this year’s photo competition.

This year was one of the most successful yet, with 56 applications, highlighting the diverse array of work, hobbies, fungi, plants and animals encountered by you all. We feel very fortunate to have seen each application. We want to thank each and every one of you for your submissions. Every year, the competition to be the new image of the blog is fierce, and this year was no exception.

With 56 applications, we somehow had to create a short list. Thankfully for us, the wonderful Siobhan McDonald, an Irish artist that has collaborated with Trinity’s School of Natural Sciences on numerous occasions, took on this job. Siobhan was tasked with selecting 8 photos, which she did in her stride. Thank you so much Siobhan for selecting such an amazing shortlist – we couldn’t have done it without you!

Next came the task of selecting which one of the 8 would be our winner. This is where you came in. Thank you to everyone who voted on this year’s competition! We had great engagement in the poll, which saw three images constantly battling for the top position. One image in particular started to take the lead, and received over 30% of the votes. Before we jump ahead and announce the new face of EcoEvo, let’s take a look at the top 8, who are all worthy of the title.

The 2023 Shortlist

Blue rayed limpets by Katrin Schertenleib

When snorkeling in Wicklow, I found some of these beautiful, mysterious marine gems: blue-rayed limpets (*Patella pellucida*) sitting between encrusting bryozoans on some serrated wrack. Their bright blue, iridescent stripes are marvellous to look at and reflect far under water. The stripes are caused by special mineralized (not organic) structures in the limpet shells and might be some mimicry to trick potential predators (DOI: 10.1038/ncomms7322).

Katrin is a PhD student in Zoology, working in the O’Connor lab in the Zoology Dept., who just recently submitted her thesis, and was the winner of last year’s competition. Her Twitter handle is @KatMarSci

Vervet Monkey by Niamh McCartan

This image was taken at a campsite on Lake Baringo, Kenya, in October 2018 while on a field course trip with the Zoology Department.

Niamh is a PhD student in the Luijckx Lab in the Zoology Dept., researching disease dynamics and outbreaks on host-parasite interactions in Daphnia magna.

Proboscis pollination by Elena Zioga

The plant *Lilium chalcedonicum* can be found in Greece, parts of Italy and Albania. This lily has an interesting way of ensuring pollination. The blooms hang downward, offering nowhere for pollinators to perch, so this lily is usually pollinated by insects with a long proboscis. These include moths, like Zygaena ephialtes which fly from bloom to bloom, and suck out the nectar with their long proboscis. In the picture, you may observe its proboscis rolled under its head.

Elena is a PhD student in the Stout Lab in the Botany Dept., who just recently submitted her thesis, and is evaluating the potential for pesticide contamination of floral resources and its impacts on plant-pollinator relationships as part of the PROTECTS project.

Puffed Robin by Whitney Parker

This robin (Crepe Bench Robin) was trained during a Biodiversity and Conservation master’s thesis project, which tested whether European Robins generalized their experience with familiar food by presenting them with an assortment of food arranged in a color gradient.

Whitney is a PhD student in the Luijckx Lab in the Zoology Dept., researching how disease burden and prevalence differs between Daphnia magna individuals that vary in both genotype and geographic origin.

The Poached Egg Fungus by Luke Quill

Pictured is *Oudemansiella mucida*, known as the poached egg fungus, growing from a tree.

Luke is a PhD student in the lab in the Botany Dept., identifying species of Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi that are present in an agro-ecosystem, which will be incorporated into a myco-phytoremediation plan for edge of field control of agricultural runoff.

Facing Upstream by Frank Spellman

Standing on Mendenhall Glacier looking up-glacier towards its source. Pollen from the surrounding coniferous forests of Tongass National Forest add a brown dusting on top of the ice, and low groans echo as the ice slowly moves down the valley.

Frank is a research masters student in the O’Connor lab in the Zoology Dept., applying ecological theory to improve the stability of yields of cultivated macroalgae, and quantifying the ecological impact.

Endophytic filamentous fungi by Diego Bianchi

Fungi isolated from leaves and roots of wild relatives of barley.

Diego is a PHD student in Hodkinson and Murphy group in the Botany Dept., researching Biostimulants and Biopesticides for Crop production.

The Winner Is…..

Eyes up to the sky submitted by Jenny Bortoluzzi

Dr. Aoibheann Gaughran pictured while bird netting in Áras an Uachtaráin as part of the biodiversity survey carried out by the TCD team of ecologists. This image being the winner of the photo competition this year is even more meaningful, as Aoibheann’s bright presence is continually missed in the department. Aoibheann is pictured here doing what she loved, which is how she will always be remembered.

Jenny is a PhD student, who just submitted her thesis, in the Jackson and Payne lab group in the Zoology Dept., focusing on the ecology and conservation of elasmobranchs, studying variation in trophic niches, blue shark feeding ecology, and socio-economic links between angling and conservation in Ireland.

Once again, thank you to everyone who submitted a picture – the competition was very strong! A special thanks again to Siobhan for creating the shortlist and to everyone who voted.

15/12/202129/08/2022

New Editors of EcoEvo blog 2021/22!

As 2022 rolls around quicker than any of us could have ever imagined, it’s time to say farewell to our current editors – Erika Soldi and Sam Preston – and introduce our new editing trio.

Many thanks to Erika and Sam for their wonderful contribution to the EcoEvo blog, bringing us all some much needed light in a challenging year. Highlights include advice on how to make your lab greener, the connection between nature and wellbeing, and of course your research (Fungi, Birds , Crabs and so much more!). We wish Erika and Sam the very best for their continued research and hopefully this won’t be the last our readers hear from them!

Goodbyes are always hard, but this year’s is even more so in light of the tragic loss of Dr Aoibheann Gaughran. Before introducing ourselves, we would like to take a minute to extend our condolences to Aoibheann’s loved ones and pay tribute to our wonderful friend and colleague. Below is a beautiful photo of a Brown Hawker Dragonfly taken by Aoibheann and submitted for last year’s photo competition. May it remind us of her and her love for nature.

We would now like to introduce you to your new editors… Lucy Harding, Grace McNicholas and Richa Marwaha. Editing is a new venture for each of us, so go easy! Below is a short intro about us and our research. If you have any questions about our work please feel free to get in touch. We look forward to bringing you new content in 2022 and learning from our fantastic contributors.

Lucy Harding

Hi everyone, my name is Lucy and my pronouns are she/her. I am a 3^rd year PhD student in the Dept. of Zoology. My background is in environmental science and marine conservation. Before my PhD, I was working in the Philippines and Fiji teaching children and international volunteers the importance of protecting our oceans. But my heart was always in my hometown, so I swapped tropical life for rainy ol’ Dublin and I now study the thermal physiology and ecology of marine fish, with a focus on warm blooded sharks, under the supervision of Nicholas Payne.

I am a novice when it comes to blogs so I’m very excited to learn a lot over the next year and to hear all of your exciting stories!

Grace McNicholas

Hi all, I’m Grace (she/her), nice to meet you! I recently moved to the Emerald Isle from the UK to start my PhD in the Payne Lab. If you get to know me you’ll soon realise I have a tendency to complicate things for myself, so of course my PhD is no exception and I am actually based in Westport, Mayo not Dublin. The reason being, I work closely with the Marine Institute in their nearby facility, researching the Ecology of Irish Tuna, including their space use and post-release behaviour. Probably a good thing though, as I’m not much of a city girl and since graduating from my MSc I’ve spent most of my adult life running away to remote places – be it the Australian outback or a tiny Bahamian Island!

As with Lucy, blog editing is completely alien to me but I’m looking forward to giving it a go and learning something new!

Richa Marwaha

Hi all, I am Richa working as a post-doc researcher under the supervision of Dr Matthew Saunders in the Botany Department. My project is to investigate the C/GHG dynamics of peatlands using Earth Observation techniques.

My background is in remote sensing and GIS. I moved from India to Ireland for PhD 5 years ago. I recently finished my PhD from Teagasc, Ashtown and UCC. My research was focused on grass growth rate estimation using machine learning and remote sensing.

Outside of work, I enjoy painting, baking and travelling. I am a part of this blog to improve my writing skills and venture into the world of science communication. Looking forward to this new experience and your ideas and research!

Updates:

The annual EcoEvo photo competition is back! For those of you who have been around for a while hopefully you are familiar with the competition, but if not, it’s a chance for our lovely readers to submit and vote on our updated EcoEvo blog photo banner. Keep an eye out for more details in our January post, and in the meantime don’t forget to get out and about in nature this festive season to capture some wintery shots!

We’d also like to take a moment to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and we hope you get to spend time with your loved ones after a challenging few years. Christmas can also be a difficult time for lots of us, so please reach out and ask for support if you feel alone.

Nollaig Shona – and we look forward to 2022 and sharing plenty of new blogs with you!

27/04/202114/07/2021

Herbarium in Trinity College Dublin

A herbarium contains collections of dried, pressed and therefore preserved plant material. Herbaria are amassed primarily for the purposes of understanding plant evolution, biogeography and systematics but are also useful in very many other domains including, for example, pharmaceutics, climate change, ecology and conservation.

The interior of the TCD herbarium (on the left and in the middle) and a typical set of cabinets in the TCD herbarium (on the right) showing the array of preserved specimens in presses. Those specimens in red covers are type specimens – specimens which are the reference specimens for the species.

Whilst the TCD herbarium is internationally renowned it is perhaps not as well know as it should be inside the walls of TCD.

12/03/202114/07/2021

Picture your science

Today we are celebrating our science using pictures! Here below, you can find a collection of pictures from our PhD student and research staff from Trinity College Dublin who kindly participated in this initiative.

13/11/202013/11/2020

The Marvelous Photo Competition 2020, with Special Guest Judge John Holden – Part 2: Entries and the winner

Drumroll please! It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for! The votes have been cast, they’ve been counted and recounted, and we can finally showcase the entries and reveal the winner of the 4th EcoEvo blog photo competition!

06/11/202010/11/2020

The Marvelous Photo Competition 2020, with Special Guest Judge John Holden – Part 1: Interview with the Judge

It’s that time of year when we redecorate the blog and change the wallpaper with the help of our contributors and their photography skills. That’s right, it’s the 4th annual EcoEvo Blog Photo Competition!

16/10/202007/02/2021

New Editors for a New Academic Year

If there’s one thing 2020 has taught us, it’s that change is inevitable, and this blog is no exception.

With a great deal of pride and gratitude, we say goodbye to Jenny Bortoluzzi and Floriane O’Keeffe – our 2019/2020 editors. They did a fantastic job managing the blog last year, a year that saw the end of an era with the retirement of the Zoology department’s own John Rochford, and research highlights and experience from far-flung places around the world (including Portugal, Indonesia, the Galapagos Islands, and New Zealand). We wish Jenny and Floriane the best of luck with their continued research and hope they’ll keep us updated with exciting new blog posts in the months to come.

But this post isn’t just about fond farewells. We are also delighted to introduce to you… ourselves! – Erika Soldi and Sam Preston – as the new editorial team for 2020/2021! We’re very excited to bring you the latest research, ideas, opinions, and advice from Trinity’s EcoEvo contributors and to keep making this blog a centre of science and innovation.

17/04/202017/04/2020

Staying Sane in the Insanity

With just over a month of confinement behind us and the uncertainty of when it will end, we thought we’d ask the EcoEvo community at Trinity College how they were coping. From the relief provided by our trusty companions to the energising outdoors, find out what measures academics have taken to remain sane, even when the world has seemingly gone insane. You might even find some inspiration for yourself!

18/10/201925/10/2019

Meet the new editorial team for 2019/20!

Time flies and it’s time for yet another academic year! We’re a bit late for our introduction, students are already heading into reading week but we were too busy getting over the shock that first years were born in 2001… Do you feel old too?

And with that, we wave goodbye to our fantastic 2018-19 editor, Fionn Ó Marcaigh. Thank you for your hard work and enthusiasm for sharing people’s stories! We have big shoes to fill… We say “we” because this year, you get two editors for the price of one! Let us introduce ourselves:

12/02/201912/02/2019

The 2018 EcoEvo Hall of Fame

As we launch into another year of research, we thought it would be interesting to look back on some of the work that came out in 2018, so we asked the School of Natural Sciences what papers they would like to induct into our second annual Hall of Fame. Read on for the papers we thought were fascinating, notable, or just cool. When you’re finished, you can check out 2017’s Hall of Fame here.