Gunnar Thorson Explained

Gunnar Axel Wright Thorson (31 December 190625 January 1971) was a Danish marine zoologist and ecologist, who studied at the University of Copenhagen under the professors C.G. Johannes Petersen, August Krogh, Theodor Mortensen, Ragnar Spärck and Carl Wesenberg-Lund. In 1957, Thorson was appointed professor of marine biology at the University of Copenhagen.

Thorson studied planktonic larvae of marine benthic invertebrates.^[1] He conceived the idea that in the Tropics, benthos tend to produce large numbers of eggs developing into pelagic and widely dispersing larvae, whereas at higher latitudes they tend to produce fewer and larger eggs and offspring.^{[2] [3]} This idea was later coined Thorson's rule.^[4]

Thorson participated in the Three-year Expedition to East Greenland led by Lauge Koch. He founded the Marine Biological Laboratory under the University of Copenhagen and was a professor there 1958–1968.^[5]

The icebreaker HDMS Gunnar Thorson was named after him.

External links

• University of Copenhagen Marine Biological Laboratory history - with portrait of Thorson

Notes and References

1. Thorson . G. . 1946 . Reproduction and larval development of Danish marine bottom invertebrates; with special reference to the planktonic larvae in the Sound (Øresund) . Meddelelser Fra Kommissionen for Danmarks Fiskeri- og Havundersøgelser. Serie Plankton . 4 . 1 . 1–523 .
2. 10.1111/j.1469-185X.1950.tb00585.x . Thorson . G. . 1950 . Reproductive and larval ecology of marine bottom invertebrates . Biological Reviews . 25 . 1 . 1–45 . 24537188 . 43678161 .
3. Book: Thorson, G. . 1957 . Bottom communities (sublittoral or shallow shelf) . Hedgpeth, Joel W. . Ladd, Harry S. . Treatise on Marine Ecology and Palaeoecology . 461–534 . Waverly Press . Baltimore. Memoirs / Geological Society of America . 67 .
4. Mileikovsky . S.A. . 1971 . Types of larval development in marine bottom invertebrates, their distribution and ecological significance: a reevaluation . Marine Biology . 19 . 3. 193–213 . 10.1007/BF00352809 . 84623588 .
5. 10.1002/iroh.19730580110 . 58 . 1 . GUNNAR THOROSN in memoriam. 31. Dezember 1906—25. Januar 1971 . 1973 . Internationale Revue der gesamten Hydrobiologie und Hydrographie . 145–146.