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.
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.
[4] Thorson participated in the Three-year Expedition to East Greenland led by Lauge Koch.