FINALIST: Fatherhood, Richard Wylie, Eukafa Island Research Centre

The weedy seadragon (Phyllopteryx taeniolatus) is endemic to sub-temperate and temperate Australian waters and is listed by the IUCN as a Near Threatened species. This individual showcases the majesty of these unique creatures, as well as their biologically diverse methods of reproduction in the marine environment. The female seadragon transfers fertilised eggs to the male, who then incubates them until the fully-formed young hatch approximately eight weeks later.

FINALIST: Growth of fungus, Paecilomyces cicadae, Elma Kearney

This ascomycetous fungus is an endoparasite of underground cicada nymphs. Infection begins when ingested spores germinate and invade the nymph, inhibiting protein synthesis (by cordycepin) and replacing internal organs with mycelia. At maturity, the fungal fruiting bodies (stromata) grow from the killed host and produce white spores.

FINALIST: Chemokine receptor expression on prostate cancer cells in 3D culture, Dr Louisa Windus

Chemokine receptor CXCR4 (green fluorescence) expression can be visualised on the membrane of lymph-derived prostate cancer associated tumour cells (LNCaP) grown in a 3D matrix. The nucleus of each cell can be seen (red fluorescence).

Rampant webs, Helen Lambert

Rampant spider webs blanket vast stretches of farmland near South West Rocks, NSW. It is likely the webs are a dispersal mechanism that allows spiders to move out of places where they would otherwise drown. The massive quantities of silk produced create a trampoline that supports the spiders as they escape rising floodwaters.

Fluid Mechanics, Stuart Hirth

Fluid Mechanics shows a collection of liquid splashes, photographed over a period of many months and brought together in one image. The splashes from a single drop landing in a puddle are photographed in darkness and illuminated with a high-speed flash to show the colours and beautiful shapes.

Emergence, Dr Ian Baguley, Westmead Hospital

Emergence shows the fragility of a cicada after years of underground growth as it strives to breed above ground. The complexity underpinning the cicadas’ life cycle speaks to the depth of time required for evolutionary processes to enable a species to evolve to fill an available niche.

Green Turtle, Gary Cranitch, Queensland Museum Network

Gary Cranitch has captured a green turtle in a pristine marine environment on the Great Barrier Reef. For many people, the health and wellbeing of this species is an indicator of the state of the Reef itself. Right now the Great Barrier Reef is under threat from many directions. This image symbolises all that we stand to lose.

The dawn of neurodevelopment – the migratory journey of neural precursors, Dr Michael Lovelace and Professor Tailoi Chan-Ling, University of Sydney

Like a spectacular dawn, this image of migrating nervous system cells illustrates the complexity of morphologies and markers expressed on immature cells using an adherent neurosphere model. Neurospheres are spherical balls of cells that are used by scientists to model the processes involved in neurodevelopment, such as proliferation, migration and differentiation.

Liquid Lace, Phred Petersen, RMIT University

This photograph illustrates the Marangoni effect, seen here in the break-up of a drop of glycerin-water mixture impacting a thin film of ethanol. Surface tension gradients between different liquids force the flow in the direction of higher surface tension, creating holes in the normally smooth ejecta crown. This flow effect can also be seen in the ‘tears’ in a glass of wine.

A Tale of Two Deaths – The Poacher and the Virus, Jason Edwards, Jason Edwards Photography

The tortured and charred remains of an African elephant (Loxodonta africana) lie beside a road in the Chobe National Park in northern Botswana, the animal having been illegally slaughtered for bush meat. The poachers were disturbed by national park rangers before they could dismember the carcass. Discovering that the elephant was contaminated with anthrax, the rangers then torched the remains. The photograph is testament to continued extensive poaching in the Chobe and the presence of anthrax.