Blubber

Blubber is a thick layer of vascularized adipose tissue found under the skin of all cetaceans, pinnipeds and sirenians.

Description

Lipid-rich, collagen fiber-laced blubber comprises the hypodermis and covers the whole body, except for parts of the appendages, strongly attached to the musculature and skeleton by highly organized, fan-shaped networks of tendons and ligaments. It can comprise up to 50% of the body mass of some marine mammals during some points in their lives, and can range from 2 inches (5 cm) thick in dolphins and smaller whales, to more than 12 inches (30 cm) thick in some bigger whales, such as right and bowhead whales. However, this is not indicative of larger whales' ability to retain heat better, as the thickness of a whale's blubber does not significantly affect heat loss. More indicative of a whale's ability to retain heat is the water and lipid concentration in blubber, as water reduces heat-retaining capacities, and lipid increases them.

Function

Blubber is the primary storage location of fat on some mammals. It is particularly important for species that feed and breed in different parts of the ocean. During these periods, the animals metabolize fat. Blubber may save energy for marine mammals such as dolphins, in that it adds buoyancy to a dolphin while swimming.

Blubber (disambiguation)

Blubber is a thick layer of vascularized fat found under the skin of all cetaceans, pinnipeds and sirenians.

Blubber may also refer to:

See also

Blubber (novel)

Blubber is a young adult novel by Judy Blume first published in 1974. The narrator of the story is Jill Brenner, a Pennsylvania fifth-grader who joins her classmates in ostracizing and bullying Linda, an awkward and overweight girl. Linda gives an oral class report about whales and is hence nicknamed "Blubber" by her peers.

Plot

The story takes place in Radnor, Pennsylvania

Though the entire class ostracizes Linda and though she is not the heaviest student in their class, Wendy and her best friend and sidekick Caroline are Linda's chief tormentors and bully her both physically (e.g. attempting to strip her in the girls' bathroom) and psychologically (forcing her to say things such as "I am Blubber, the Smelly Whale of Class 206"). As a member of Wendy's clique, Jill participates in the bullying without remorse, though Wendy and Caroline, are usually the instigators. Linda confronts Jill and threatens her with revenge after one incident, but Jill dismisses the threat, confident of her status and protection as one of Wendy's circle.