Herbert Andrewartha
Encyclopedia
Professor Herbert George Andrewartha, BS (UWA), MAgSc (Melb), DSc (Adel), FAA, (1907-1992) was a distinguished Australia
n research scientist in the fields of entomology
, biology
, zoology
and animal ecology.
to George and Elsie, the second of three children. His father was a teacher, and the family moved frequently from school to school in rural Western Australia.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n research scientist in the fields of entomology
Entomology
Entomology is the scientific study of insects, a branch of arthropodology...
, biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
, zoology
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
and animal ecology.
Early years
Andrewartha was born on 21 December 1907 in Perth, Western AustraliaPerth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
to George and Elsie, the second of three children. His father was a teacher, and the family moved frequently from school to school in rural Western Australia.
Career
- -?- Entomologist in the Department of Agriculture of Western Australia
- 1933 Biologist, CSIR, Melbourne and worked the School of Agriculture and Forestry at the University of Melbourne
- 1935-1954 Entomologist at the Waite Agricultural Research Institute
- 1952 President of the Royal Society of South AustraliaRoyal Society of South AustraliaThe Royal Society of South Australia is a Learned Society whose interest is in Science, particularly, but not only, of South Australia.The Society stems directly from the Adelaide Philosophical Society founded on the 10 January 1853. The title "Royal" was granted by her Majesty Queen Victoria in...
(RSSA) - 1954 'The Distribution and Abundance of Animals published
- |1954-1962 Reader in Animal Ecology, University of AdelaideUniversity of AdelaideThe University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...
- 1961 Introduction to the Study of Animal Populations published
- 1961 Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science (FAA)
- 1962-1972 Professor of ZoologyZoologyZoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
, University of Adelaide (Emeritus Professor 1973)}}
Retirement and death
He retired in 1972. In 1975 he suffered a serious stroke, but continued writing his last book with Birch. He died on 27 January 1992 at the age of 84. He married Hattie Vevers Steele in Melbourne in 1934. His wife predeceased him: he was survived by his son Graeme and daughter Susan Dutch.Significant work
- The ecology of Thrips imaginis
- The ecology of Austroicetes cruciata
- DiapauseDiapauseDiapause is the delay in development in response to regularly and recurring periods of adverse environmental conditions. It is considered to be a physiological state of dormancy with very specific initiating and inhibiting conditions...
- The Queensland fruitfly Dacus tryoni
- General theory of the distribution and abundance of animals
Honours and awards
- 1962 Verco Medal of the Royal Society of South AustraliaRoyal Society of South AustraliaThe Royal Society of South Australia is a Learned Society whose interest is in Science, particularly, but not only, of South Australia.The Society stems directly from the Adelaide Philosophical Society founded on the 10 January 1853. The title "Royal" was granted by her Majesty Queen Victoria in...
- 1987 Gold Medal of the Australian Ecological Society
- 1988 Eminent Ecologist Award of the Ecological Society of America for 1988 to Andrewartha and Birch
- -?- Clarke MedalClarke MedalThe Clarke Medal is awarded by the Royal Society of New South Wales for distinguished work in the Natural sciences.Named in honour of the Reverend William Branwhite Clarke, one of the founders of the Society...
of the Royal Society of New South WalesRoyal Society of New South WalesThe Royal Society of New South Wales is a learned society based in Sydney, Australia. It was established as the Philosophical Society of Australasia on 27 June 1821... - -?- David Syme Prize of the University of Melbourne (with Charles Birch)
Publications
- 1954: The Distribution and Abundance of Animals. Chicago: University of Chicago Press (with Charles BirchCharles BirchLouis Charles Birch FAA was an Australian geneticist specialising in population ecology and was also well known as a theologian, writing widely on the topic of science and religion, winning the Templeton Prize in 1990...
) - 1961: Introduction to the Study of Animal Populations. Chicago: University of Chicago Press; London: Methuen & Co ISBN 0416640303
- 1971: --do.--2nd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press; London: Methuen & Co ISBN 0226020290
- 1984: The Ecological Web. Chicago: University of Chicago Press ISBN 0226020339 (with Charles BirchCharles BirchLouis Charles Birch FAA was an Australian geneticist specialising in population ecology and was also well known as a theologian, writing widely on the topic of science and religion, winning the Templeton Prize in 1990...
)
Legacy
- The HG Andrewartha Medal of the Royal Society of South AustraliaRoyal Society of South AustraliaThe Royal Society of South Australia is a Learned Society whose interest is in Science, particularly, but not only, of South Australia.The Society stems directly from the Adelaide Philosophical Society founded on the 10 January 1853. The title "Royal" was granted by her Majesty Queen Victoria in...
, awarded to recognize outstanding research by an early career young Australian scientist.