Nikon Small World in Motion Winners 2019

The Nikon Small World in Motion competition celebrates the art of microvideography, that is, bringing us the world of tiny unseen things as they move along, doing their everyday tiny things. The first place winner, shown above, was recorded by Dr. Philippe P. Laissue of the University of Essex School of Life Sciences. It shows an emerging staghorn coral polyp (Acropora muricata). The coral is green and the magenta stuff is algae. It appears to be a time-lapse video, although that isn’t specified. I was also really impressed with the third-place winner, by Tommy Gunn and Jesse Gunn.

It shows the carnivorous stylonychia creating a water vortex with its cilia, presumably to draw in even smaller creatures to eat. See, even microscopic animals have fascinating ways to get what they need. You can see the top five videos here, as well as honorable mentions.