Sands, Donald Peter Andrew

Summary

Don Sands is an entomologist who for 30 years worked for the CSIRO. His research was the taxonomy, ecology and conservation of insects. This included natural enemies of insects and weeds, the impact of fire on insect biodiversity in Australia and Papua New Guinea, and the development of solutions to major pest problems and methods for safely testing biological control agents. During his time with CSIRO he was participated in several biological control projects with experts form the United states Department of Agriculture such as the controlling American fruit flies with Australian parasitoids, and testing for European insect herbivores of an invasive weed, giant grass Arundo. This work had significant economic benefits. Sands is active in local community conservation groups where emphasis is placed on population monitoring, habitat conservation, and raising public awareness. He founded with Sue Scott the Richmond Birdwing Recovery Network Inc. which involved members of the community in recovery of the butterfly and its rare food plant. Sands was foundation President from 2005 to 2009. In 2010 he was awarded the Australian Natural History Medallion.

Details

Chronology

1967 - 1997

Career position - Research scientist, CSIRO

1976

Education - MSc, University of Papua New Guinea

1982

Career position - President, Entomological Society of Queensland

1982

Education - PhD, University of Queensland

1988

Career position - Editor, Journal of the Australian Entomological Society

1997 -

Career position - Honorary Research Fellow, CSIRO Entomology in Brisbane

1997

Life event - Retired from CSIRO

2001

Award - Medal of the Order of Australia (AM) service to the horticultural industry in Australia and the Pacific region through the development of biological pest control solutions, and to entomology, particularly through conservation projects

2003

Education - DSc, University of Queensland

2004

Career position - President, Entomological Society of Queensland

2005 - 2009

Career position - President, Richmond Birdwing Recovery Network Inc. (RBRN)

2010

Award - Australian Natural History Medallion, Field Naturalists Club of Victoria

Related entries

Published resources

Books

• Sands, D. P. A. and Hosking, C. M., Ecologically sustainable fire management: an advisory code for Brisbane's western suburbs ([Brisbane]: Pullen Pullen Catchment Group Inc: The Hut Environmental and Community Association Inc., 2005), 41 pp. Details
• Sands, D. P. A. and New. T. R., The action plan for Australian butterflies (Canberra: Environment Australia, 2002), 378 pp. Details
• Waterhouse, D. F. and Sands, D. A., Classical biological control of arthropods in Australia (Canberra: CSIRO Entomology; Australian Centre for Inrernational Agricultural Research, 2001), 559 pp. Details

Edited Books

• Sands, Don and Scott, Sue eds, Conservation of birdwing butterflies (Marsden, Qld: SciComEd, 2002), 48 pp. Details

Journal Articles

• Day, Maxwell F. C.; Whitten, Maxwell J.; and Sands, Don P. A., 'Douglas Frew Waterhouse, C.M.G. 3 June 1916 - 1 December 2000', Biographical memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society, 48 (2002), 459-81. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbm.2002.0027. Details
• Day, Maxwell F.C.; Whitten, Maxwell J.; Sands, Don, 'Douglas Frew Waterhouse 1916-2000', Historical Records of Australian Science, 13 (4) (2001), 495-519. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR0011340495. Details
• Presland, Gary, 'Australian Natural History Medallion 2010: Don P. A. Sands OAM', The Victorian naturalist, 127 (6) (2010), 266-7. Details
• Sands, D. P. A., Scott, S. E. and Moffatt, R., 'The threatened Richmond birdwing butterfly (Ornithoptera richmondia): a community conservation project', Memoirs of the Museum of Victoria, 56 (2) (1997), 449-53. Details

Theses

• Sands, Donald Peter Andrew, 'The ecology, biogeography and systematics of the tribe Luciici (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae)', PhD thesis, University of Queensland, 1982. Details
• Sands, Donald Peter Andrew, 'The roles of insect systematics and ecology in pest management and conservation', DSc thesis, University of Queensland, 2003. Details