biology

Gunnar Thorson

Gunnar Thorson is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Gunnar Thorson rather than just read about it. In short: Gunnar Axel Wright Thorson (31 December 1906 – 25 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.

Key takeaways

Gunnar Thorson belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Gunnar Thorson to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Gunnar Thorson from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Gunnar Axel Wright Thorson (31 December 1906 – 25 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. 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. This idea was later coined Thorson's rule. 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. The icebreaker HDMS Gunnar Thorson was named after him.

References

External links University of Copenhagen Marine Biological Laboratory history - with portrait of Thorson Archived 2007-06-09 at the Wayback Machine

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Gunnar Thorson

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Gunnar Thorson claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Gunnar Thorson before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Gunnar Thorson ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Gunnar Thorson

In research: Gunnar Thorson appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Gunnar Thorson in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Gunnar Thorson is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1906 births, 1971 deaths, 20th-century Danish zoologists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Gunnar Thorson outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Gunnar Thorson in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Gunnar Thorson means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Gunnar Thorson out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Gunnar Thorson in simple terms?

Why does Gunnar Thorson matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Gunnar Thorson?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Gunnar Thorson.