Nick Garbutt / Aggregation / bloom / swarm of Moon Jellyfish (Aurelia aurita) in the clear waters of Loch Na Keal, off the Isle of Mull, north west Scotland, UK, June, Photographed through the surface.

Edwin Giesbers / Saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) close up portrait, Sarawak, Borneo, Malaysia

Morley Read / Slow motion clip of a Forest whiptail lizard (Kentropyx pelviceps) blinking its eye, showing nictitating membrane crossing the eye, Amazon rainforest, Orellana Province, Ecuador. (non-ex)

Chase Dekker / African Lion (Panthera leo) male, Masai Mara, Kenya

Heike Odermatt / Walrus (Odobenus rosmarus), Hinlopen Strait, Svalbard, Norway

Danny Green / Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) licking paw, close-up. Svalbard, Norway, April.

Andy Rouse / Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris) male, sub-adult aged three years, face portrait. Ranthambhore National Park, India.

Gary Bell/ Oceanwide / Sea Anemone (Corynactis australis) group, Bicheno, Tasmania, Australia

Suzi Eszterhas / Leopard (Panthera pardus) fur, Jao Reserve, Botswana

John Shaw / Poplar (Populus sp.) tree plantation, hybrid species, in autumn, Boardman Tree Farm, near Irrigon, Oregon, USA. October.

Stefan Christmann / Emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) colony, males huddling whilst incubating eggs. Atka Bay, Antarctica. July.

Stefan Christmann / Emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) forming breeding colony at start of winter. Atka Bay, Antarctica. April.

Karine Aigner / Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) head, close up. Ranthambore National Park, Rajasthan, India.

Dave Bevan / Female Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) bringing moss to nest and incorporating it into nest before flying out of frame, Carmarthenshire, Wales, UK, May.

Albert Lleal / Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) leaf, 5x magnification, showing rib and veination, Barcelona, Spain

Albert Lleal / Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) leaf, 2x magnification, showing rib and veination, Barcelona, Spain

Staffan Widstrand / Wild Wonders of China / Portrait of a Golden snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana) full frame of the face, Foping Nature Reserve, Shaanxi, China. Endangered species

Chris Gomersall / Large flock of Red knot (Calidris canutus) moving at high tide roost, in winter plumage, Snettisham RSPB Reserve, Norfolk, England, UK, September.

Ralph Martin/ BIA / Oldworld Swallowtail (Papilio machaon) wing, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany

Steve Downer / Wood pigeon (Columba palumbus) feeding in a garden, flies to fence and then out of frame, Birmingham, England, UK, March.

Yva Momatiuk & John Eastcott / Ice climbers atop Skaftafellsjokull Glacier, Skaftafell National Park, Iceland

Chien Lee / Limestone pinnacles, Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park, Madagascar

Lucas Bustamante / Red tailed boa constrictor (Boa constrictor constrictor) juvenile, portrait, with tail wrapped round head, Cuayabeno, Sucumbios, Ecuador.

Lucas Bustamante / Female African lion (Panthera leo) face portrait, Etosha National Park, Harare Province, Namibia.

Jeff Foott / Maple (Acer sp) leaves and needles in autumn, Acadia National Park, Maine

Jeff Foott / Deciduous forest in autumn, Acadia National Park, Maine

Jeff Foott / Deciduous forest in autumn, Acadia National Park, Maine

Jack Dykinga / Agave (Agave utahensis) close up of spines with Pinyon pine cone (Pinus edulis) wedged amongst them. Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument, Arizona, USA

Paul Bertner / Blue-legged Chameleon (Calumma crypticum) curled tail, Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar

Frederique Olivier / Close-up of a group of Emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) chicks huddled together in a blizzard, covered in snow, Adelie Land, Antarctica, January.

John Waters / Close-up timelapse of a Common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) flower opening, UK. Controlled conditions.

Ingo Arndt / Double-crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) adult resting, close up portrait, Everglades National Park, Florida, USA. January. Finalist in the Birds Category of the GDT Awards 2015.

Steve Downer / Close up of a Canada goose gosling (Branta canadensis) sleeping, with other goslings in the background, Birmingham, England, UK, June.

John Cancalosi / Western diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox), defensive rattling, Arizona, USA, April.

Sue Daly / Close up of the face of a Brill (Scophthalmus rhombus), swims out of frame, Sark, British Channel Islands, UK, August.

Ingo Arndt / Compilation of various corals including many Fan corals (Gorgonacea sp) from collection at Senckenberg Museum, Frankfurt, Germany.

Ingo Arndt / Vogelkop bowerbird (Amblyornis inornatus) decoration material (fruit and beetle elytra ) collected in order to attract females to his bower, Arfak Mountains, Irian Jaya, New Guinea, Indonesia.

Ingo Arndt / Common wasp (Vespula vulgaris) detail of nest surface, Hessen, Germany, April.

Ingo Arndt / Vogelkop bowerbird (Amblyornis inornatus) decoration material (fungus) collected in order to attract females to his bower, Arfak Mountains, Irian Jaya, New Guinea, Indonesia.

Ingo Arndt / Vogelkop bowerbird (Amblyornis inornatus) decoration material (blue rotten wood) collected in order to attract females to his bower, Arfak Mountains, Irian Jaya, New Guinea, Indonesia.

Ingo Arndt / Aerial view of Hardy Reef, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia, December 2010.

Ingo Arndt / Magnetic termite (Amitermes meridionalis) aerial view of mounds in grassland, Litchfield National Park, Northern Territory, Australia.

Ingo Arndt / Garden Spider (Araneus diadematus) web with dew drops, at sunrise, Germany, August.

Ingo Arndt / Magnetic termite (Amitermes meridionalis) aerial view of mounds in grassland, Litchfield National Park, Northern Territory, Australia.

Ingo Arndt / Weaver bird nest (Ploceus sp.) detail from Africa in collection at Uebersee-Museum, Bremen, Germany.

Ingo Arndt / Fan Coral (Echinogorgia sp) from Indo-Pacific, in collection at Senckenberg Museum, Frankfurt, Germany.

Ingo Arndt / Flock of Bramblings (Fringilla montifringilla) perched together in branches. It's estimated that four million individiuals return to roost during winter in Black Forest, Germany. February.

Ingo Arndt / Mass of Mastigias jellyfish (Mastigias sp) in Jellyfish lake, Palau, Western Pacific Islands, Micronesia, March 2009

Ingo Arndt / Flock of Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla) perched at roosting tree, overwintering, Steiermark, Austria

Ingo Arndt / Bed of Blue mussels (Mytilus sp.) densely packed together on rock, Lamberts Bay, South Africa

Ingo Arndt / King penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) colony with adults and chicks. St Andrews Bay, South Georgia Island, Southern Ocean, Antarctic Convergence

Ingo Arndt / Ladybirds (Hippodamia convergens) gathering to mate, California, USA.

Ingo Arndt / Aerial view of crowd of people at the Rheinkultur Festival, Bochum, Germany.

Pal Hermansen / Herd of domesticated Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) moving around, Norway, September.

Pal Hermansen / Herd of domesticated Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) moving around, Norway, September.

Thomas Marent / Bonobo (Pan paniscus) staring, native to central Africa

Benjamin Olson / Storm clouds, Lakeville, Minnesota

Jack Dykinga / Hairy bird's foot morning glory (Ipomoea leptotoma) flower over Prickly pair (Opuntia sp) Catalina State Park, near Tucson, Arizona, USA, August.

Yashpal Rathore / Demoiselle crane (Anthropoides virgo) flying silhouetted and framed by Jarokha (carved windows) of a Haveli or townhouse. Khichan, Western Rajasthan, India. December.

Neil Aldridge / Steenbok (Raphicerus campestris) female standing framed by a fallen tree, Mapungubwe National Park, Limpopo Province, South Africa.

Danny Green / Coastal brown bear cubs (Ursus arctos) resting, Lake Clarke National Park, Alaska, September

Fiona Rogers / Mountain gorilla (Gorilla gorilla beringei) female portrait , part of the 'Munyanga' group. Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo, March.

Fiona Rogers / Mountain gorilla (Gorilla gorilla beringei) female portrait, member of 'Humba' group . Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo, March.

Lucas Bustamante / Anthony's poison-frog (Epipedobates anthonyi) seen through hole in leaf. Buenaventura Reserve, El Oro, Ecuador.

Vincent Grafhorst / Lava in volcanic crater, Mount Nyiragongo, Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Pete Oxford / San Lucas marsupial frog (Gastrotheca pseustes) captive, occurs in Ecuadorian Andes.

Pete Oxford / Rainforest canopy, Rupununi, Guyana

Matthias Breiter / Forest in autumn, Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada

Pascal Kobeh / 'Lotus', an artificial reef built in 2001 with a steel frame with a mild electrical current which encourages the growth of coral, Ihuru Island, North Male Atoll, Maldives, Indian Ocean. Small reprodu...

Ingo Arndt / Sandstone rock formations, Badlands National Park, South Dakota

Ingo Arndt / Sandstone rock formations, Badlands National Park, South Dakota

Wim van den Heever / Leopard (Panthera pardus) cub looking up at birds (out of frame) with mother in background, Khwai River, Botswana. Highly commended in the Mammals category of the Asferico Photography Competition 201...

Solvin Zankl / The Scarce Merveille du Jour (Moma alpium) caterpillar with urticating hairs on English oak tree (Quercus robur) leaf, Stettin Lagoon, Bay of Szczecin, Germany, August.

Juan Carlos Munoz / Close up of horse wearing bridle, Sierra de Gredos, Avila, Castile and Leon, Spain.

Edwin Giesbers / Brown headed spider monkey (Ateles fusciceps) mother and baby, captive occurs in Central and South America.

Edwin Giesbers / Western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) twin babies age 45 days resting on mother's chest, one suckling. captive, occurs in Central Africa. Critically endangered.

Edwin Giesbers / Western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) twin babies age 45 days sleeping in mother's arms, captive, occurs in Central Africa. Critically endangered.

Edwin Giesbers / Western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) twin babies age 45 days sleeping on mother's chest, captive, occurs in Central Africa. Critically endangered.

Edwin Giesbers / Western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) twin babies age 45 days resting side by side in mother's arms, captive, occurs in Central Africa. Critically endangered.

Edwin Giesbers / Golden lion tamarin (Leontopithecus rosalia) captive, occurs in the Atlantic Rainforest of Brazil. Critically endangered.

Edwin Giesbers / European bison (Bison bonasus) close up portrait showing horns, Zuid-Kennemerland National Park, the Netherlands. January. Reintroduced species.

Edwin Giesbers / Western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) baby resting on mother's back, captive, occurs in Central Africa. Critically endangered.

Edwin Giesbers / Western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) twin babies age 45 days, resting on mother's chest, captive, occurs in Central Africa. Critically endangered.

Gerrit Vyn / Greater snow geese (Chen caerulescens) taking flight at sunset during migration. Montezuma National Wildlife Rescue, New York, USA. March.

Theo Allofs / Lesser Flamingo (Phoenicopterus minor) flock taking flight, Lake Bogoria, Kenya

Pal Hermansen / Blizzard on the coast of Lofoten in black and white, Norway, March. Winner of the Natural Adversities category of the Asferico Competition 2015.

Claudio Contreras / Caribbean flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber) adult feeding chick, Ria Lagartos Biosphere Reserve, Yucatan Peninsula Mexico, June. Winner of the CONABIO Nature Photography Competition 2015.

Theo Bosboom / Birch tree (Betula pendula) with lichen, camouflaged against lichen covered rock face, Muddus National Park, Sweden. September 2014. Highly commended in GDT European Wildlife Photographer of the Yea...

Fiona Rogers / Eastern chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurtheii) female 'Gremlin' aged 40 years holding female baby aged 2, her granddaughter. Gombe National Park, Tanzania. Gremlin took the new born baby from he...

Juan Carlos Munoz / Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) fields, Valensole Plateau, Alpes Haute Provence, France, June.

Juan Carlos Munoz / Honeybee (Apis melifera) visiting Lavender (Lavendula angustifolia) in lavender fields, Valensole Plateau, Alpes Haute Provence, France, July.

Pete Oxford / Head-hunted human skulls, collected by the Konyak Naga tribe, North East India, October 2014.

Cyril Ruoso / Woman with baby looking at Sisal (Agave sisalana) fibres drying for rope making, Berenty Reserve, Madagascar.

Cyril Ruoso / Oilseed rape (Brassica napus) fields in flower, Burgundy, France, May.