53rd Annual Meeting · Hosted by Auburn University
SEPEEG 2026
Southeastern Population Ecology & Evolutionary Genetics
October 23–25
Alabama 4-H Center
Columbiana, AL
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Southeastern Population Ecology & Evolutionary Genetics
SEPEEG brings together researchers from institutions across the Southeastern United States to share and discuss their work on ecology, population biology, evolution, and genetics.
SEPEEG is intentionally a single-session meeting — everyone attends every talk, fostering cross-disciplinary connections and the kind of informal conversation that often sparks the best ideas. The meeting typically draws over 100 participants from all career stages, from first-year graduate students to senior faculty.
The format balances formal presentations with ample time for informal discussion. Talks range from brief lightning-style presentations to longer research seminars. A poster session rounds out the program.
Beyond the science, SEPEEG is known for the lasting professional relationships it builds — many collaborations and careers have been shaped by connections made at this meeting over more than five decades.
Registration includes lodging (for those staying on site), all meals, and meeting sessions. The Alabama 4-H Center's beautiful lakeside campus on Lay Lake provides the perfect setting for Southern hospitality and late-night discussion.
Nestled on nearly 200 acres of forested land along Lay Lake in Shelby County, the Alabama 4-H Center offers a full-service conference experience with the natural character that defines a great SEPEEG meeting.
Located at 892 4-H Road, Columbiana, AL 35051, the center is operated by the Alabama 4-H Foundation and Alabama Cooperative Extension System — a partnership between Alabama A&M University and Auburn University.
892 4-H Road, Columbiana, AL 35051 · (205) 669-4241
Registration is now open through Auburn University's TouchNet payment portal. Cost includes on-site lodging, all meals, and meeting sessions.
You can register on the touchnet link above. The MS Form linked above for submitting research presentation requests is now closed. For additional questions see the Contact section below.
SEPEEG welcomes talks and poster presentations from researchers at all career stages — undergraduate and graduate students, postdocs, and faculty. We strive to balance talk slots by career stage, institution, and subject area.
Short (5-min) and standard (12-min) talk slots are available. All talks are in a single-session format so every attendee hears every presentation. Talk slots fill quickly — submit early.
Posters are displayed during a dedicated poster session and are a great way for students and early-career researchers to share their work. Standard poster boards are 3′ × 4′ (landscape or portrait).
Dr. Lev Yampolsky
East Tennessee State University
"Trade-offs, genetic determinants and transcriptomics of aging – what can we learn from Daphnia"
Dr. Megan Smith
Mississippi State University
"Rethinking the models and data we use to make evolutionary inferences"
Phaeognathus hubrichti, the Red Hills salamander —
Alabama's largest endemic lungless salamander.
Logo art by Lauren McCann in the Stevison Lab with input from Dr. Jim Godwin.
Our 2026 logo features a very special Alabamian: the Red Hills salamander (Phaeognathus hubrichti), a federally threatened species found nowhere else on Earth. Endemic to the Red Hills region of south-central Alabama, this remarkable animal embodies exactly what SEPEEG is all about — the intersection of ecology, evolution, and the urgent work of conservation genetics.
SEPEEG — the Southeastern Population Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics meeting — traces its roots to 1973, when it was founded as SEEGG, the Southeastern Ecological Genetics Group. Among the founding organizers were Wyatt Anderson (University of Georgia), Janis Antonovics (Duke University), Bruce Grant (College of William and Mary), Jim Murray (University of Virginia), David West (Virginia Tech), and Darrell Yardley (Clemson University).
The founders envisioned a relaxed venue where researchers across the Southeast could freely discuss ongoing work and new ideas in ecological and population genetics, and where graduate students could build connections with peers and mentors from other institutions. That spirit remains central to SEPEEG today.
In its early years, SEEGG convened at field stations and marine labs throughout the region — Mountain Lake Biological Station, the Duke University Marine Laboratory, and the Skidaway Island Marine Facility among them. The practice of gathering at residential venues, where attendees live, eat, and relax together, has continued ever since.
Over the decades the meeting evolved: the name changed first to SEEPAGE and eventually to SEPEEG as the scope expanded from genetics alone to the broader interface of ecology, evolution, and population biology. Today, more than fifty years on, SEPEEG annually brings together over 100 researchers from colleges and universities across the Southeast, remaining true to its original character as an informal, collegial meeting where careers are shaped and collaborations are born.
The 2026 meeting at the Alabama 4-H Center, hosted by Auburn University, will be the 53rd gathering in this tradition.
Read more about the history of SEPEEG at the 2011 conference site.
University of Virginia (2023) · Clemson University (2024) · University of Tennessee (2025) · Auburn University (2026) · and many more across five decades at field stations, marine labs, and conference centers throughout the Southeast.
Questions about registration, presentations, accommodations, or anything else? Reach out to the organizing team at Auburn University.