It's been another busy week, but I managed to intercept (on their path from backpack to recycling bin) a couple pages of what looks to be school work in which the elder Free-Ride offspring has illustrated various concepts from ecology in drawings.
A closer look at the concepts (with a wee bit of commentary) below.
Organism
This organism appears to be a wolf. The elder Free-Ride offspring is fond of wolves.
Habitat
This habitat includes shelter (a cave), water (in a wee watering hole), and food (a meaty arm-bone in a pool of blood ... presumably the blood of the critter whose arm it was).
Biotic factor
A number of candidates are shown: an earthworm, grass, a mushroom, a flower, a bird, and what seems to be a very small cat.
Abiotic factor
The candidates here include a rock, oxygen molecules, water, the sun, and possibly dirt (sediments).
Photosynthesis
I don't know why the Sun looks so angry. Possibly it's because the oxygen molecules seem to be coming out of the flowers rather than the leaves?
Species
The species shown is Canis lupis. (See above regarding fondness for wolves.)
Population
Dr. Free-Ride: What's going on in the picture?
Elder offspring: That's a multiplication sign.
Dr. Free-Ride: So those wolves ... are about to get it on?
Elder offspring: As they do.
Community
This community includes an earthworm, a bird, a flower, grass, mushrooms, and a cat, not necessarily drawn to scale.
Ecosystem
This ecosystem looks to include a tree, grass, a snake, and some kind of weasel, among other constituents of "EVERYTHING".
Ecology
Ecology being the study of the interactions in the ecosystem.
Birth rate
That's a stork, and the creature it's carrying in the bundle looks mammalian. Maybe a baby weasel of some sort?
Death rate
The grim reaper in the picture seems to be returning from a service call (or at least hasn't cleaned the blood from his sickle since the last one).
Immigration
The sign on the hollow tree says "SOLD".
Emigration
The sign on the hollow tree says "For Sale".
Limiting factor
The number of available caves may limit the bat population. (That last bat on the right looks concerned.)
Carrying capacity
The sign on the tree says "No Vacancy". The squirrel confronts the realities of a tight rental market.
I love these.
As an ecologist, I have to say that the elder Free-Ride offspring understands what ecology is better than 95% of the American public.
That's great! Maybe you can talk him into making one of these:
http://smallsciencezines.blogspot.com/
The kid is seriously talented and with a substantial IQ. Does the kid have a "Tiger Mom"? She/he must have all of these talents owing to a household prohibition on sleepovers, No?
I got all of those without the captions, except the multiplication sign. Elder Free-Ride Offspring has a bright future in writing text books.
As an ecologist, may I just say "well done!" Would it be impertinent to request the addition of "population growth rate". It's essentially the outcome of a battle between birth rate and death rate. Death looks pretty well equipped for the fight. The stork might have to call for reinforcements.
Could you imagine what they say to the elder Free-Ride at school
"You're the kid who's mom posts your homework on the internet." "Your mom actually says "get it on", when is she from... the 60s?" O.K. probably not.
To be fair, Marvin Gaye sang "Let's Get It On" in 1973.
Apparently your sprog did a lot of field research in the Pokemon ecosystem.
That's a pretty excellent anime wolf up there. I think the multiplication sign is unnecessary in the 'Population' drawing; the artist did a fine job of connoting a certain purposefulness in the body language of that wolf on the right.