30 Award-Winning Photos Of Nature Taken By Working Scientists

The natural world is full of beautiful moments and interactions, but we don't always have the full context for what we see.

While many photographers capture beautiful images of animals out in the wild, few know exactly what's happening in the scene as well as a researcher does - unless that photographer happens to also be a scientist.

The BMC Ecology Image Competition is a contest designed to show both the beauty of what's happening in nature as well as highlight the researchers that help us understand it.

The journal just announced their 2014 winners and 22 additional "commended" images.