why don't jellyfish get squashed at the bottom of the ocean

yammycat

as above why don't jellyfish get squashed at the bottom of the ocean

sineadgalway

they spend their time swimming in the water column so spend very little time actually at or near the seabed...

check out http://www.jellyfish.ie for more jelly info...

Capt'n Midnight

on land they are very flat because of gravity

in the sea they are essentially weightless so it's just water pressure they have to worry about. But they are mostly made up of water which won't compress. (or at least only compress as much as the water around them)

aidoh

As far as I know the 'jelly' part (mesoglea) keeps them fairly neutral in water - it counteracts the weight of water above them and also their own buoyancy. That and the fact that, well, they can swim. Also they wouldn't be near the bottom of the sea. They 'see' by sensing light so they wouldn't ever be found any deeper than ~200m. Jellies are cool.

darjeeling

Lots of things do live at the bottom of the ocean without getting squashed. They equalise their internal pressure with the pressure of the water around them, and they've no problem. Some evolutionary adaptations help - e.g. minimising air spaces, maximising gelatinous tissue.

Human divers have dived to depths of 300m and more (>30 x atmospheric pressure), equalising internal pressure with external pressure by breathing air at the same pressure as the surrounding water. They don't get squashed as (lungs aside) they're mostly liquid, and this - as Cap'n Midnight says - doesn't compress much.

Improbable

darjeeling wrote: »

Lots of things do live at the bottom of the ocean without getting squashed. They equalise their internal pressure with the pressure of the water around them, and they've no problem. Some evolutionary adaptations help - e.g. minimising air spaces, maximising gelatinous tissue.

Human divers have dived to depths of 300m and more (>30 x atmospheric pressure), equalising internal pressure with external pressure by breathing air at the same pressure as the surrounding water. They don't get squashed as (lungs aside) they're mostly liquid, and this - as Cap'n Midnight says - doesn't compress much.

Can't wait until someone discovers a way to make this a reality:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_breathing

darjeeling

darjeeling wrote: »

Human divers have dived to depths of 300m and more (>30 x atmospheric pressure), equalising internal pressure with external pressure by breathing air gas at the same pressure as the surrounding water.

FMP

RocketFalls

Improbable wrote: »

Can't wait until someone discovers a way to make this a reality:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_breathing

They've done it to mice, I think. Not that they survived very long. Not sure how well the alveoli would take to being immersed in a liquid.
Now, I'm no physicist, but wouldn't the gradual compression oxygen work on the same principle? Basically, equalize pressure the air-intake with the external pressure? It would need to be done very carefully, of course..

the culture of deference

Brian cox had been down 2km in a sub. The amount of life on the sea floor around the vents is trully astounding.