Lori Boies

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a potential source of formative feedback for student writing. However, relatively little is known about how AI‐generated feedback compares with instructor and peer feedback across different Writing‐to‐Learn (WTL) assignments implemented in authentic undergraduate biology classrooms. This exploratory study compared AI (specifically ChatGPT‐5), peer, and instructor feedback across infographic and academic explanatory article assignments implemented in three undergraduate biology courses representing diverse student populations. Agreement among feedback sources was evaluated using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), while student perceptions of feedback usefulness, trust, engagement, and effort were assessed using Likert‐scale survey data. Agreement between AI and instructor feedback varied according to assignment modality, disciplinary context, and revision stage. AI demonstrated moderate agreement with instructor feedback during the draft stage, but agreement frequently diverged following student revision, particularly for higher‐order rubric criteria such as content accuracy and disciplinary reasoning. Agreement was consistently stronger for academic explanatory articles than for infographics. Students perceived instructor feedback as more useful and trustworthy than either peer or AI feedback, whereas the effort required to apply feedback did not differ across feedback sources. AI feedback was generally perceived similarly to peer feedback. Collectively, these findings suggest that AI is best used as a formative, early‐stage scaffold within WTL assignments rather than as a summative evaluation tool. When integrated into structured instructional workflows alongside instructor and peer feedback, large language models can support student revision while preserving the central role of instructor expertise in undergraduate biology education.

Gene Model for Insulin-like peptide 4 ( Ilp4) in the D. simulans DsimGB2 assembly (GCA_000754195.3). The characterization of this ortholog was carried out as part of a larger, ongoing dataset designed to explore the evolution of the insulin/insulin-like growth factor signaling (IIS) pathway across the genus Drosophila , utilizing the Genomics Education Partnership gene annotation protocol within Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences.

Urban green spaces and wildlife corridors provide unique opportunities to observe how animals adapt and interact in human‐dominated landscapes. In San Antonio, Texas, both adjacent to and within the Phil Hardberger Park and the Robert L.B. Tobin Land Bridge, the largest wildlife bridge in the United States at the time of its construction, we documented a rare case of interspecific allopreening. On May 15, 2022, two Crested Caracaras ( Caracara plancus ) engaged in mutual head and neck allopreening, followed by two Black Vultures ( Coragyps atratus ) initiating preening of the Crested Caracara. Subsequent behaviors consisted of perching, self‐preening, and wing‐spreading by vultures, with no additional allopreening observed. The same behavior was also observed on February 4, 2023 within Phil Hardberger Park. While allopreening is well documented within species for social and hygienic purposes, interspecific allopreening is rare and has only been reported a few times globally and only in rural settings. Our observation is the first record of its kind in an urban green space and expands the ecological and geographic scope of such behavior, demonstrating that urban green infrastructure may act as a stage for uncommon avian social interactions. This record contributes to the growing body of urban wildlife research and highlights the value of systematic observation in cities for revealing overlooked aspects of avian behaviors.

Gene Model for Insulin-like peptide 4 ( Ilp4) in the D. eugracilis (DeugGB2) assembly (GCA_000236325.2). The characterization of this ortholog was carried out as part of a larger, ongoing dataset designed to explore the evolution of the insulin/insulin-like growth factor signaling (IIS) pathway across the genus Drosophila , utilizing the Genomics Education Partnership gene annotation protocol within Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences.

Gene Model for the Insulin-like peptide 4 (Ilp4) ortholog in the D. grimshawi (dgriCAF1 ) assembly (GeneBank Accession: GCA_000005155.1) of Drosophila grimshawi . The characterization of this ortholog was conducted as part of a broader, developing dataset aimed at investigating the evolution of the Insulin/insulin-like growth factor signaling (IIS) pathway across the genus Drosophila , using the Genomics Education Partnership gene annotation protocol within Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences.

Drosophila melanogaster is a commonly used model organism in genetics and developmental biology. Research on the insulin signaling pathway in D. melanogaster provides evidence that it is similar to the human pathway and involved in metabolism, growth and lifespan regulation [4]. The Genomic Education Partnership's (GEP) Pathways Project is a network analysis that focuses on insulin signaling in the genus Drosophila through the annotation of genes [1]. The approach of the project is to understand the evolutionary change in genes across species over time in biological pathways and look at the growth and metabolic homeostasis [2]. Insulin, in Drosophila, is produced by secretory cells in the median eminence of the brain called insulin- producing cells (IPC's). IPC's release insulin-like peptides in response to hormones and bind to insulin receptors to regulate metabolism and reproduction. Drosophila insulin-like peptides (llp) promote an abundance of glycogen and lipids inducing glycolysis in cells [4]. Glycolysis is the process of breaking down glucose and converting it into pyruvate and is important for growth and development in the fruit fly. There are eight different Drosophila insulin-like peptides that are responsible in growth conditions and produce a phenocopy of type 1 diabetes in humans [4]. The gene of interest in this study is the llp1 gene which is important for controlling nutrient- dependent growth control during development. We are interested in studying how evolutionarily conserved the llp1 gene is and investigated the llp1 in 15 species across the Drosophila genus.