Biological Sciences 2023 Photo Contest Winners!

Science in Action - 1st Place
Diver in The Grass by Kieran Cox
PhD Candidate Em Lim traveled to Central America to monitor changing seagrass meadows as part of a collaboration between Simon Fraser University, the University of Florida, and the Smithsonian.

Wild Card - 1st Place
Weary Wanderer by Tiia Haapalainen
Weary wanderer - a four-spotted skimmer (Libellula quadrimaculata) with tattered wings rests on fireweed (Chamaenerion angustifolium).

Study Subject - 1st Place
A Reef in Motion by Kieran Cox
Coral reefs are well-known to be rarely static but are also not silent. Kieran Cox’s postdoctoral research examines how climate change increases these ecosystems' susceptibility to noise pollution.

Life Under the Lens - 1st Place
PSC-derived human forebrain neuron by AJ Keefe
55 days in vitro iPSC-derived, human forebrain neuron immunostained for axons (tau; blue), dendrites (MAP2; red), and synapses (SV2; green)

Life Under the Lens - 2nd Place
Sow Thistle Trichome by Miranda Meents
Take a closer look at the plants around you, and you may see small hairs called trichomes decorating their surface. Viewed using a dissecting microscope, these trichomes from a Sow Thistle (in the genus Sonchus) produce and store defensive chemicals in the cavity at the end of their stalk to help deter hungry herbivores from for dinner.

Science in Action - 2nd Place
Seeing Double by Cat Reynolds
Em Lim and Isabelle Côté accidentally twin while comparing their underwater survey data, photo by Isa's daughter, Cat Reynolds.

Study Subject - 2nd Place
Peakaboo! by Em Lim
A small mossy warbonnet peeks out of a scallop shell just in time to be counted on our Reef Life Survey transect in Barkley Sound.

Wild Card - 2nd Place
Thatcher Ants Eating a Blacklegged Tick by Claire Gooding
Ants are one of the primary predators of ticks and are known to suppress tick populations in the field. Recently, we have found that ticks 'eavesdrop' on the pheromones of ants to avoid predation.

Life Under the Lens - 3rd Place
iPSC-derived human neural precursors by AJ Keefe
Neural precursor cells immunostained for the neural lineage markers Nestin (green) and PAX6 (red). DAPI (blue) stain nuclei.

Science in Action - 3rd Place
Ready to Roll by Kiara Kattler
"Ready to roll" was taken in Barkley Sound, BC this past summer during our work out of the Bamfield Marine Science Centre. This photo is of Kieran Cox before a dive. We were conducting surveys to record the biological communities around kelp forests (related to Claire Attridge's project) and conducting noise pollution trials to see if kelp forests can provide refuge for noise pollution.

Wild Card - 3rd Place
Spotted Towhee nestlings in formation by Triana Hohn
A photo of Spotted Towhee nestlings in formation, taken from field work.

Study Subject - 3rd Place
Botanical Beach Seaweed by Miranda Meents
The shores of British Columbia are home to a huge diversity of seaweeds, including at least half a dozen in this image, taken at Botanical Beach on the Western shores of Vancouver Island, on the traditional territories of the Pacheedaht First Nation. The green blades of Sea Lettuce (Ulva) and inflated yellow balloons of the Dead Man's Fingers (Halosaccion), stand out amongst the surrounding diversity of red and brown bladed, calcified, filamentous, and tufted seaweeds.