A DRAMATIC chase is afoot between two seabirds above the icy waters of north-east Norway in the image below. In a sly plan to steal a fish, an Arctic skua (Stercorarius parasiticus) tails a black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) while mirroring its flight pattern.
The striking shot, captured by Alwin Hardenbol at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, clinched top prize in the 鈥淩elationships in nature鈥� category in the . Kleptoparasitism (stealing food from others) is common among skuas.
Dipping below the water, a more chaotic scene is taking place off the coast of the Azores in the main image, top. Schools of tuna, including the Atlantic bluefin (Thunnus thynnus), deftly herd 鈥渂ait balls鈥� of tiny snipefish straight into the mouth of a peckish whale shark (Rhincodon typus).
Advertisement
The world鈥檚 largest fish, whale sharks grow to around 12 metres long. Despite their size, they are gentle giants, usually eating plankton.
鈥淏ut they鈥檙e not feeding on plankton while they are in the Azores in the summer, because there鈥檚 no plankton there,鈥� says Jorge Fontes, a marine biologist at the University of the Azores, Portugal, and the photographer behind this shot. The bustling snap was deemed the competition鈥檚 overall winner.
鈥淚t shows how complex the ecological relationships between completely different types of animals [are],鈥� says Fontes. 鈥淲e realised the tunas and the whale sharks were cooperating, so there must be some sort of advantage for the tunas which we don鈥檛 yet understand.鈥�
