The top 10 highly commended photographs have been released this week for the Eureka Science Competition. We always like to keep an eye on these awards as they showcase the best of the natural world, from the microsopic to the largest mammals.

The aim is to find photos with scientific influences that are also aesthetically pleasing – exposing both the art and the science worlds to each other.

For example finalist Dave Abdo’s image shows a red-throat emperor fish being released after scientific tagging on the Great Barrier Reef.

The winners of 19 Eureka Prizes, including photography, will be announced on August 28.

See all the finalists here.