Finalist - Travel Photographer of the Year. December 2019.

Endangered Planet Portfolio Category

Freshwater Habitats

A Northern pike lies in wait. Frogs are easy pickings for an ambush predator with stealth skills enhanced by camouflaged markings. At the top of this particular food web, the biomagnification of chemicals and trace metals absorbed along the chain concentrate in these fish. High levels of methylmercury, a dangerous and toxic compound are one such example. Aquatic food chains, representative of the interconnectedness of life, are especially susceptible to this type of environmental contamination.

Freshwater biodiversity is rapidly declining in response to the combined impact of human activity. As we extract ever-increasing amounts of freshwater for our own needs, habitat fragmentation and degradation are significant factors in the life story of a biome that has become our most endangered.

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Shortlisted Finalist - British Wildlife Photography Awards, 2019.
Animal Portraits Category.

Location: Buckland Lake Nature Reserve, Cliffe, Kent, UK

Photographer: Laura Storm