About

Dr. Cory Suski is a professor in the Department of Natural Resources & Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois. His research group offers a range of opportunities for students interested in basic animal physiology and applied fisheries conservation. Dr. Suski's work focuses on understanding fish behavior, physiology, and conservation strategies through a combination of laboratory and field experiments. His lab investigates various species, including Paddlefish, largemouth bass, walleye, and other freshwater fishes, with projects addressing topics such as thermal tolerance, fish movement, spawning site fidelity, and the effects of angling pressure. The research aims to inform conservation and management practices to better protect fish populations and their habitats under changing environmental conditions. Dr. Suski actively mentors undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral researchers, fostering a collaborative environment that integrates physiology, ecology, and conservation science to address pressing questions in fisheries biology.

Research topics

• Business
• Environmental planning
• Political Science
• Environmental resource management
• Fishery
• Ecology
• Biology
• Geography
• Environmental science
• Economics
• Natural resource economics
• Engineering
• Marketing

Selected publications

• Local Angler Knowledge Reveals Declines in Fishing Quality for Black Bass in Lakes of Eastern Ontario

  Fisheries Management and Ecology · 2026-01-02

  articleOpen access

  ABSTRACT Local ecological knowledge can be useful to assess data‐limited fisheries such as the Ontario Black Bass ( Micropterus spp.) recreational fishery. We surveyed local anglers using the Life History Calendar approach to determine if there were perceived changes in fishing quality for Black Bass in eastern Ontario across different time periods. For both species (Largemouth Bass and Smallmouth Bass), respondents noted declines in numbers and body sizes of their catch across most of the time periods (1975–2025) with sharp declines beginning in 2005. The reported declines were notably consistent across the waterbodies studied and did not differ across different user types (e.g., tournament anglers vs. other anglers). The results of this study show that anglers overwhelmingly perceive that the quality of bass fishing in eastern Ontario has deteriorated over the past few decades, highlighting the (1) utility of using local angler knowledge to complement traditional stock assessment methods and (2) the need to consider alternative monitoring and management strategies to reverse those declines.

  PublisherDOI

• Development and Assessment of Fluorescent‐Dyed, Preserved Invasive Grass Carp ( <i>Ctenopharyngodon idella</i> ) Eggs as Surrogates for Live Eggs in Transport and Dispersal Control Experiments

  River Research and Applications · 2026-03-07

  articleOpen access

  ABSTRACT Invasive species such as grass carp ( Ctenopharyngodon idella ) pose substantial ecological threats to North American freshwater ecosystems. Understanding their early life stage behavior is critical for management efforts. From spawning to hatching, invasive carp eggs must remain suspended in the water column while drifting downstream for the best chance of survival. This highly vulnerable life stage is a potential target for population control to reduce recruitment. However, studying egg transport and potential dispersal control techniques is challenging, because the availability of live eggs and time period for experimentation are extremely limited. Additionally, accurately replicating the physical characteristics and transport mechanisms of fish eggs using surrogates in laboratory and field studies is not trivial. This study presents a novel method to create fluorescein‐dyed, preserved grass carp eggs as surrogates for live eggs in transport and dispersal control experiments. This technique enables year‐round studies of grass carp egg transport, offering managers a reliable tool for developing and testing dispersal control and passive sampling methods for invasive carp eggs. In this study, we rehydrate and dye preserved grass carp eggs in varying concentrations of aqueous fluorescein for a range of rehydration times, evaluate dye retention and egg visibility under ultraviolet light (UV‐A), and measure diameters and settling velocities for comparison with live eggs. Eggs rehydrated in 0.100 g per liter fluorescein for 30 min maintain adequate brightness for up to 40 min in mixed conditions and exhibit mean settling velocities and densities similar to live eggs, making them ideal for laboratory experiments using quantitative imaging techniques.

  PublisherDOI

• Experimental Data from an Examination of the Interaction of Grass Carp Eggs and Larvae with a Longitudinally Oriented Bubble Screen in a Laboratory Flume

  Open MIND · 2026-02-23

  dataset

  Behavioral deterrents targeting mature fish have been developed to control population expansion of invasive carp in non-native regions. However, there are currently no methods to control dispersal of early-life stage carp, which have no/limited mobility during their vulnerable, multi-day drift period in rivers. Capturing eggs and larvae in large numbers downstream from known spawning grounds warrants new methods that rely upon physics rather than behavioral response. This project tested a novel method using a longitudinally (streamwise) oriented bubble screen to redirect downstream drifting grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) eggs and larvae into cross-channel-oriented nets along the sides of the channel for efficient removal in a laboratory setting. The effects of flow velocity and airflow rate on redirection of live grass carp eggs, pre- and post-gas bladder inflation (GBI) stage larvae, dead larvae, and dead (preserved) eggs were examined. A detailed hydrodynamic characterization of the bubble screen and surrounding flow was also completed. This data release contains hydrodynamic and egg and larval redirection data associated with the 2024 experiments examining the interaction of grass carp eggs and larvae with a longitudinally oriented bubble screen in a recirculating laboratory flume. A detailed description of the data contained in this data release can be found in the associated metadata.

  DOI

• Experimental Data on Preserving, Rehydrating, and Dyeing Invasive Grass Carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) Eggs for use in Transport and Dispersal Control Experiments

  Open MIND · 2026-02-23

  dataset

  Invasive grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) pose substantial ecological threats to North American freshwater ecosystems, and understanding their early life-stage behavior is warranted for management efforts. However, availability of live eggs is limited and their use in field experiments risks further spread of the species. Additionally, current efforts to replicate the physical characteristics and behaviors of live eggs is challenging. These data were used to characterize fluorescein-dyed preserved grass carp eggs as surrogates for live eggs in laboratory and field experiments. Preserved grass carp eggs were rehydrated and dyed with varying fluorescein concentrations for various amounts of time. Dye retention, egg visibility under a blacklight lamp, diameters and settling velocities were measured and reported to compare them with live eggs.

  DOI

• Coupling carbon dioxide gas within a bubble curtain enhances its effectiveness to deter fish

  Biological Invasions · 2025-02-01 · 1 citations

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Quantifying the impact of temperature variation in live wells on Largemouth Bass

  North American Journal of Fisheries Management · 2025-04-01

  articleSenior author

  ABSTRACT Objective Live-well confinement can place multiple sublethal stressors on captured fish that can prolong the time for recovery and contribute to the likelihood of tournament-related mortality. The goal of this study was to quantify water temperatures in live-release tournaments across multiple seasons and then use this information to quantify the impacts of thermal conditions on Largemouth Bass Micropterus nigricans during live-well holding. Methods To define thermal conditions during live-well holding and the influence of these thermal conditions on Largemouth Bass, a series of complementary field and laboratory studies were conducted. The field study quantified the temperature of live wells in several live-release angling tournaments. The laboratory study used the temperature data from the field to inform holding condition treatments and subsequently quantify the physiological changes in Largemouth Bass induced by thermal conditions in live wells. Results Results from the field showed that thermal conditions in live wells were highly variable, both within and across anglers and tournaments. Several trends in thermal patterns were observed. Laboratory simulations of these patterns showed that cyclical cooling of 4–5°C simulating multiple additions of ice during holding resulted in considerable physiological disturbance and impaired recovery for Largemouth Bass. Disturbances also increased in simulations that increased live-well temperature. Reflex impairment indices were not influenced by any treatment. Conclusions Thermally dynamic recovery environments induce physiological disturbances and prolong recovery from exercise and should be avoided. Given the intense tournament pressure in this system and throughout North America, our results identify key practices that could mitigate tournament practices that would inhibit Largemouth Bass recovery from tournament activities.

  PublisherDOI

• Sea lamprey display context-dependent attraction to specific types of turbulence within a laboratory flume

  Research Square · 2025-02-24 · 1 citations

  preprintOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Navigation on St. Lawrence Seaway Via Gulf of Saint Lawrence Estuary and the St. Lawrence River

  2025-11-25

  book-chapterSenior author

  The St. Lawrence River watershed and Newfoundland, located in Canada, are currently home to millions of people. The entire Great Lakes watershed drains through Lake Ontario and flows into the St. Lawrence River near Cape Vincent, New York. The St. Lawrence River then flows northeast through Quebec and Ontario and into the largest estuary in the world, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. The St. Lawrence River, between Ontario, Canada and New York, United States, is part of the international boundary. The St. Lawrence Seaway permits ocean-going vessels to go from the Great Lakes of North America to the Atlantic Ocean. Navigation of the St. Lawrence was not possible until canals were built around the Lachine Rapids near Montreal. The canals allowed ships to bypass the rapids and travel into Lake Ontario. In 1954, the United States agreed to joint development of the international sections of the St. Lawrence River. The St. Lawrence Seaway was opened in 1959 and permits ocean-going ships to go all the way to the southwest corner of Lake Superior near Duluth, Minnesota. During the 1970s and after more than 150 years of successful resource and economic development of the St. Lawrence Basin, a grassroots challenge to the proposed United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) planned development of the St. Lawrence River was blocked by a successful ecological campaign called “Save the River”. The objectives of the study are: 1) to study the geological and landscape properties which the St. Lawrence River Basin has contributed to the successful resource and economic development of a historically rich region of North America, and 2) to study the environmental risks to the St. Lawrence River Basin and the Saint Lawrence estuary. Planned economic and urban development of the St. Lawrence River basin by the USACE was blocked by the “Save the River” campaign. These environmental challenges include the settlement of millions of people in the St. Lawrence River basin, navigation of the St. Lawrence River, disposal of treated and untreated wastewater, water pollution, shore erosion because of high-water levels in the Great Lakes and connecting rivers, invasive species, and flooding.

  PublisherDOI

• Acute exposure to water from the Chicago Area Waterway System induces molecular indices of stress and disturbance in silver carp: implications for deterrence to range expansion

  Research Square · 2025-04-04

  preprintOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Advancing black bass management and conservation to benefit fish populations, fisheries, and people

  Fisheries · 2025-01-22

  articleOpen access

  Since the colonization of North America by Europeans, black bass Micropterus spp. of the family Centrarchidae have been the basis for lucrative recreational fisheries, and even smallscale commercial fisheries.Early accounts by James Henshall in the late 1800s celebrated black bass while acknowledging the importance of sustainable management during periods of intense harvest (Henshall, 1881).Species-specific accounts followed, as well, along with other more holistic, scientific tomes (e.g., Robbins & MacCrimmon, 1974).Pioneers in black bass science such as Homer Swingle, George Bennett, and William Childers generated foundational knowledge on black bass biology, ecology, propagation, and management.Not surprisingly, early efforts focused on the more common species such as Smallmouth Bass Micropterus dolomieu, Spotted Bass M. punctulatus, and what we now know as two separate species, Largemouth Bass M. nigricans and Florida Bass M. salmoides (see Near & Kim, 2021).Recognizing the stature of black bass fisheries, there have been a number of efforts over the years to assemble black bass scientists and managers in focused symposia to reflect on and advance black bass science and management.The first major symposium, organized by the Sport Fishing Institute (Dick Stroud, Bob Jenkins, Larry Larimore, and others), was held in 1975 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, culminating in what became the bible for bass management for 20+ years (Stroud & Clepper, 1975).

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Steven J. Cooke

  Carleton University

  265 shared

• David P. Philipp

  University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

  157 shared

• Caleb T. Hasler

  University of Winnipeg

  149 shared

• Andy J. Danylchuk

  University of Massachusetts Amherst

  86 shared

• Michael J. Louison

  McKendree University

  71 shared

• Jennifer D. Jeffrey

  University of Manitoba

  67 shared

• Karen J. Murchie

  Shedd Aquarium

  55 shared

• David H. Wahl

  Iowa State University

  55 shared

Labs

• Dr. Cory Suski LabPI

Education

• PhD, Biology

  Queen's University

  2004

• MS, Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences

  University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

  2000

• BSc.H., Biology

  Queen's University

  1995