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The predator-prey cycle starts small. Unaware as we might be of the millions of microorganisms around us, there is a lot going on in that parallel world. To honour this micro-world Nikon hosts an annual "small world in motion" competition. The video above, which shows one single-celled organism consume another, won this year. The film, titled, "Trachelius ciliate feeding on a Campanella ciliate", was shot at a visual magnification of 250X, by Wim van Egmond of the Netherlands.

Egmond said in a statement reported by Popular Science website, "Wildlife is so close to us, yet most of us never look close enough to see it. A pool in your garden is actually a miniature underwater jungle teeming with life. If you want to see the world, your backyard is a great place to start."

If not your backyard, perhaps your furniture? The second place prize went to a video (below) which shows the visually perplexing activity inside a termite gut. Shot by Danielle Parsons from Wonder Science TV, the video reveals hundreds of species of single-celled parabasalid microorganisms, known as Trichonympha. These organisms help termites breakdown wood.

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In third place is the creepy video (below) of a parasitic wasp larva, breaking out of its caterpillar host and then spinning itself into a cocoon to start pupation. The process takes several hours, the video shot at a 10X magnification, has been sped up for your viewing pleasure. The parasitic moths actually help control the population of a breed of invasive moths, the caterpillar would have grown to become. It was shot by Gonzalo Avila from the University of Auckland, New Zealand.

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More entries can be seen on the official website. And here is a combined video of all of this year's winners and honourable mentions:

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