Ann-Helén Rønning

• Delrieu-Trottin, Erwan; Koppetsch, Thore; Rønning, Ann-Helen & Matschiner, Michael (2025). Thor Heyerdahl's Legacy: Ichthyological and Herpetological Collection on Fatu Hiva (Marquesas Islands) in 1937. Pacific Science. ISSN 0030-8870. 78(4), p. 373–385. doi: 10.2984/78.4.2. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The Norwegian explorer and writer Thor Heyerdahl is most famous for his 1947 Kon-Tiki expedition, a journey performed on a balsa raft, drifting from South America to French Polynesia. However, his exploration of the Pacific to answer questions revolving around the colonization of isolated islands began earlier, in December 1936, when he and his wife, Liv, traveled to Fatu Hiva, one of the most remote locations of the Marquesas Islands. During their year-long stay, Thor Heyerdahl and Liv Torp-Heyerdahl collected ichthyological and herpetological material that has since remained without analysis for more than 80 yr at the Natural History Museum in Oslo. Here, we provide the first identifications of the collected material. Ninety-four specimens have been identified to the species level, three to the genus level, and six specimens remain at the family level or above. The collection comprises mostly fishes, with 66 reef fish specimens encompassing at least 14 species and 27 freshwater specimens covering at least 6 species. Ten specimens of reptiles were also collected by Thor Heyerdahl, including four species of both geckos (Gehyra insulensis and G. oceanica) and skinks (Emoia cyanura and Ornithuroscincus noctua). Many specimens are juveniles, making accurate identification challenging. Incorporating molecular data for species identification is a promising direction for future studies. The expedition marked a turning point in Heyerdahl's career, shifting his focus from zoology to anthropology and setting the stage for his later research on human migration and Pacific cultural connections.

• Frafjord, Karl; Bakken, Torkild; Kubicek, Lukas; Rønning, Ann-Helen & Syvertsen, Per Ole (2017). Records of ocean sunfish Mola mola along the Norwegian coast spanning two centuries, 1801-2015. Journal of Fish Biology. ISSN 0022-1112. 91(5), p. 1365–1377. doi: 10.1111/jfb.13456. Full text in Research Archive
• Oug, Eivind; Christiansen, Marit Ellen; Dobbe, Kristine; Rønning, Ann-Helen; Bakken, Torkild & Kongsrud, Jon Anders (2015). Mapping of marine benthic invertebrates in the Oslofjord and the Skagerrak: sampling data of museum collections from 1950–1955 and from recent investigations. Fauna Norvegica. ISSN 1502-4873. 35, p. 35–45. doi: 10.5324/fn.v35i0.1944. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Data from large sampling programmes for the mapping of marine invertebrates in the Oslofjord, Norway, and the Skagerrak, spanning more than six decades, are compiled and digitized to provide easy access in modern data repositories. Two sampling programmes undertaken in the period 1950–55 are still the most extensive mapping of marine benthic fauna in the area. Information from a total of more than 900 localities, or sampling events, covering all benthic habitats in the Oslofjord and coastal waters to Kvitsøy in Rogaland county, have been carefully digitized from field notes, original sea charts, and primary observations from sample handling in the field. Geographical coordinates referred to WGS84 chart datum have been fixed with a general accuracy of 20 m in the Oslofjord and 100–250 m in coastal areas, based on precise map sketches with cross-bearings to land objects and chart annotations. Most samples were collected using triangular, Agassiz and lightweight dredges. The collected material has been deposited in the collections of the Natural History Museum, University of Oslo. Two recent projects, ‘Polyskag’ and ‘Bioskag’ (2006–2014), are briefly described. The projects focused on the diversity of marine bristle worms (Polychaeta), inter alia providing material for molecular genetic analyses. Type localities for early described species and generally understudied biotopes were visited. The data from the 1950s, together with recent studies, constitute a considerable resource for studies of biodiversity, facilitated through the sharing of species records from the museum collections in modern data repositories. The accurate positioning of sampling localities in the 1950s is of particular value for documenting species distributions over long time spans, thus providing a reference base for studying present and future species changes and assessing the effects of human influence and environmental changes in the Oslofjord and the Skagerrak.

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• Ramsfjell, Mali Hamre; Liow, Lee Hsiang; Kongshavn, Katrine; Kongsrud, Jon Anders; Bakken, Torkild & Buhaug, Maria Grankvist [Show all 14 contributors for this article] (2026). Documenting Norwegian Bryozoans - a NorDigBryo summary. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  En oversikt over Artdatabankprosjektet NorDigBryo sammen med noen av resultatene (med fokus på cheilostome mosdyr)

• Vatne, Torun Marie; Rønning, Ann-Helen & Nes, Ragnhild Bang (2020). Kommunepsykologer bør sørge for at kommunens tiltak er tilpasset søskens behov. Psykologi i kommunen (PIK). ISSN 1892-3364. Full text in Research Archive
• Vatne, Torun & Rønning, Ann-Helen (2020). Kommunepsykologer bør sørge for at kommunens tiltak er tilpasset søskens behov. Psykologi i kommunen (PIK). ISSN 1892-3364. 6. Full text in Research Archive
• Vatne, Torun & Rønning, Ann-Helen (2020). Kommunepsykologer bør sørge for at kommunens tiltak er tilpasset søskens behov. Psykologi i kommunen (PIK). ISSN 1892-3364. Full text in Research Archive
• Vogt, Yngve; Mehlum, Fridtjof; Williams, Dawn; Rønning, Ann-Helen & Bøckman, Petter (2017). Redder UiOs slanger og øgler med sprit, harpiks og bivoks. [Journal]. Apollon. Full text in Research Archive
• Christiansen, Marit Ellen; Rønning, Ann-Helen; Oug, Eivind; Bakken, Torkild & Torgersen, Eivind (2017). Så grundig undersøkte de Oslofjorden på 1950-tallet. [Internet]. forskning.no. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Fra 1951 til 1955 registrerte Bengt og Marit E. Christiansen flere tusen bunndyr i Oslofjorden. Dagbøkene deres er gull verdt for dagens marinbiologer.

• Rønning, Ann-Helen & Brabrand, Åge (2017). Blant fisk og slanger i kjelleren på Zoologisk museum. [Radio]. NRK P2 - ekko. Full text in Research Archive

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