The prize for the best article on science and technology for the general public based on the author's PhD thesis went to the biologist from Pasaia in the Basque province of Gipuzkoa, Ms Naroa Aldanondo, for her article "Antxoaren gorabeherak ulertu nahian" (Wanting to understand the fluctuations of the anchovy). Ms Aldanondo studied anchovies for her PhD thesis. In the article, concretely, she explains what research has been undertaken in order to answer the question: Will there be anchovies this year?

Ms Aldanondo worked with the calcareous structure found in the internal acoustic organ of anchovies and known as the otolith. On the information that these structures store, she based her findings as regards predicting if there will be anchovies or not from one season to another. Otoliths can be compared to the age rings of tree trunks: they tell those who know how to interpret them when and where anchovies were spawned and information about their growth, and they leave signs enabling predictions to be made on their population.

The Panel pointed out that "without going round in circles, the author goes straight to the point and, thanks to this, she has captured the interest of the reader in the first lines. It is well told and accompanied by fine images, the author thus creating a well-rounded article based on her PhD thesis".

Further information: Basque Research