The mysterious rocks and shoreline of Whitefish Point, Lake Superior. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
Cory O Brant, PhD
I'm a Biologist at the USGS-Great Lakes Science Center based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I'm mainly interested in invasive species control and native fish restoration in the Great Lakes, and my current projects focus on sea lamprey control and cisco and whitefish (Great Lakes coregonines) restoration.
I rely on a wide range of approaches and disciplines as a scientist, from field studies and scientific surveys to oral histories, social, and archival science. I'm passionate about learning from history to help solve current and future Great Lakes conservation problems. I'm also a biological illustrator and very much enjoy drawing nature.
One of my main projects at the USGS-GLSC involves a deep and systematic dive into archives and historical records to better understand where native coregonine fish populations once spawned, and where they spawn today, in the Great Lakes. I work with a team of experts in database development, archival theory, ecology, geospatial science, and both quantitative and qualitative methods for extracting data from historic sources. Together we hope to use the information we uncover to inform the science-based Coregonine Restoration Framework (CRF) for the Great Lakes that was developed by the USGS-GLSC and US Fish and Wildlife Service in coordination with the Great Lakes Fishery Commission (GLFC). I'm also working with a team to develop and implement a methodology to conduct a gap analysis for the Great Lakes CRF, which is part of several core planning phases of the framework. My work at USGS-GLSC also includes fish morphology research and early life history studies related to coregonines (mainly ciscoes and whitefish) in the Great Lakes. Most of my coregonine early life history research is focused on Lake Huron through my involvement with the Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative (CSMI), a binational effort to provide lake and fishery managers with valuable science and monitoring information. We are focused on collecting and examining larval fishes throughout the lake to better understand early life history recruitment constraints these ecologically and economically important fishes may face.
Science and Products
Multimedia related to this scientist
Whitefish Point Rocks
The mysterious rocks and shoreline of Whitefish Point, Lake Superior. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
Falls in the Fall
A fall day at the Tahquamenon Upper Falls, Michigan. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
A fall day at the Tahquamenon Upper Falls, Michigan. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
Fall Forage Net Out
USGS vessel crewmembers (GLSC; Cheboygan, Michigan) and science crew (GLSC; Ann Arbor, Michigan) heave out the cod end of a bottom trawl net during the 2023 fall prey fish assessment in Lake Michigan aboard the GLSC’s R/V Arcticus. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
USGS vessel crewmembers (GLSC; Cheboygan, Michigan) and science crew (GLSC; Ann Arbor, Michigan) heave out the cod end of a bottom trawl net during the 2023 fall prey fish assessment in Lake Michigan aboard the GLSC’s R/V Arcticus. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
Alpena Fall Forage
Leaving Alpena for a day of Great Lakes science during the Lake Huron fall forage fish survey. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
Leaving Alpena for a day of Great Lakes science during the Lake Huron fall forage fish survey. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
Up Close Larval Fish Assumed to be a Coregonine Species
A larval coregonine, collected by USGS scientists during the 2022 Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative survey on Lake Huron, is examined and identified using a stereo microscope and high-resolution camera. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
A larval coregonine, collected by USGS scientists during the 2022 Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative survey on Lake Huron, is examined and identified using a stereo microscope and high-resolution camera. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
Larval Diversity
The diversity of larval fishes from one 10-minute tow collected at the surface of Lake Huron by USGS scientists during the 2022 Lake Huron Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative survey. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
The diversity of larval fishes from one 10-minute tow collected at the surface of Lake Huron by USGS scientists during the 2022 Lake Huron Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative survey. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
The Search for Juvenile Lake Whitefish
A determined USGS research crew sets out on Lake Huron by small vessel to lift micromesh gillnets in search of elusive juvenile lake whitefish. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
A determined USGS research crew sets out on Lake Huron by small vessel to lift micromesh gillnets in search of elusive juvenile lake whitefish. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
Surveying Lake Huron Coastal Areas for Larval Fish Sampling Sites
Pancake ice forms near the landing at Harbor Beach, Michigan, while USGS scientists scout for locations to sample for larval fishes at the start of the 2022 Lake Huron Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative field sampling season. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
Pancake ice forms near the landing at Harbor Beach, Michigan, while USGS scientists scout for locations to sample for larval fishes at the start of the 2022 Lake Huron Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative field sampling season. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
Cisco Sampling Under the Ice
USGS leads the way out on a frozen Muskegon Lake to sample ciscoes with hook and line for morphometrics and acoustic telemetry projects. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
USGS leads the way out on a frozen Muskegon Lake to sample ciscoes with hook and line for morphometrics and acoustic telemetry projects. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
Science on 100-Year-Old Fishes
A cisco (Coregonus artedi) collected by Dr. Walter Koelz on August 20, 1920, in Lake Michigan is photographed and measured by USGS scientists at the University of Michigan Research Museums Center over 100 years later. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
A cisco (Coregonus artedi) collected by Dr. Walter Koelz on August 20, 1920, in Lake Michigan is photographed and measured by USGS scientists at the University of Michigan Research Museums Center over 100 years later. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
Lake Huron Sculpins
A slimy sculpin (left) and deepwater sculpin (right), two native sculpin species in the Great Lakes, are compared side-by-side after capture in a bottom trawl during the Lake Huron fall forage survey aboard the R/V Arcticus. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
A slimy sculpin (left) and deepwater sculpin (right), two native sculpin species in the Great Lakes, are compared side-by-side after capture in a bottom trawl during the Lake Huron fall forage survey aboard the R/V Arcticus. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
Sculpin Up-close
A native deepwater sculpin, captured by bottom trawl in the Lake Huron depths off Cheboygan, Michigan, is held for a quick photo op during the USGS Great Lakes Science Center fall forage sampling cruise aboard the R/V Arcticus. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
A native deepwater sculpin, captured by bottom trawl in the Lake Huron depths off Cheboygan, Michigan, is held for a quick photo op during the USGS Great Lakes Science Center fall forage sampling cruise aboard the R/V Arcticus. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
Great Lakes Science at Sunset
The USGS Great Lakes Science Center R/V Arcticus pulls into port in Cheboygan, Michigan, after a day of sampling in Lake Huron during the annual fall forage cruise. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
The USGS Great Lakes Science Center R/V Arcticus pulls into port in Cheboygan, Michigan, after a day of sampling in Lake Huron during the annual fall forage cruise. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
Science and Products
Multimedia related to this scientist
Whitefish Point Rocks
The mysterious rocks and shoreline of Whitefish Point, Lake Superior. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
The mysterious rocks and shoreline of Whitefish Point, Lake Superior. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
Falls in the Fall
A fall day at the Tahquamenon Upper Falls, Michigan. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
A fall day at the Tahquamenon Upper Falls, Michigan. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
Fall Forage Net Out
USGS vessel crewmembers (GLSC; Cheboygan, Michigan) and science crew (GLSC; Ann Arbor, Michigan) heave out the cod end of a bottom trawl net during the 2023 fall prey fish assessment in Lake Michigan aboard the GLSC’s R/V Arcticus. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
USGS vessel crewmembers (GLSC; Cheboygan, Michigan) and science crew (GLSC; Ann Arbor, Michigan) heave out the cod end of a bottom trawl net during the 2023 fall prey fish assessment in Lake Michigan aboard the GLSC’s R/V Arcticus. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
Alpena Fall Forage
Leaving Alpena for a day of Great Lakes science during the Lake Huron fall forage fish survey. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
Leaving Alpena for a day of Great Lakes science during the Lake Huron fall forage fish survey. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
Up Close Larval Fish Assumed to be a Coregonine Species
A larval coregonine, collected by USGS scientists during the 2022 Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative survey on Lake Huron, is examined and identified using a stereo microscope and high-resolution camera. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
A larval coregonine, collected by USGS scientists during the 2022 Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative survey on Lake Huron, is examined and identified using a stereo microscope and high-resolution camera. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
Larval Diversity
The diversity of larval fishes from one 10-minute tow collected at the surface of Lake Huron by USGS scientists during the 2022 Lake Huron Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative survey. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
The diversity of larval fishes from one 10-minute tow collected at the surface of Lake Huron by USGS scientists during the 2022 Lake Huron Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative survey. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
The Search for Juvenile Lake Whitefish
A determined USGS research crew sets out on Lake Huron by small vessel to lift micromesh gillnets in search of elusive juvenile lake whitefish. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
A determined USGS research crew sets out on Lake Huron by small vessel to lift micromesh gillnets in search of elusive juvenile lake whitefish. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
Surveying Lake Huron Coastal Areas for Larval Fish Sampling Sites
Pancake ice forms near the landing at Harbor Beach, Michigan, while USGS scientists scout for locations to sample for larval fishes at the start of the 2022 Lake Huron Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative field sampling season. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
Pancake ice forms near the landing at Harbor Beach, Michigan, while USGS scientists scout for locations to sample for larval fishes at the start of the 2022 Lake Huron Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative field sampling season. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
Cisco Sampling Under the Ice
USGS leads the way out on a frozen Muskegon Lake to sample ciscoes with hook and line for morphometrics and acoustic telemetry projects. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
USGS leads the way out on a frozen Muskegon Lake to sample ciscoes with hook and line for morphometrics and acoustic telemetry projects. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
Science on 100-Year-Old Fishes
A cisco (Coregonus artedi) collected by Dr. Walter Koelz on August 20, 1920, in Lake Michigan is photographed and measured by USGS scientists at the University of Michigan Research Museums Center over 100 years later. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
A cisco (Coregonus artedi) collected by Dr. Walter Koelz on August 20, 1920, in Lake Michigan is photographed and measured by USGS scientists at the University of Michigan Research Museums Center over 100 years later. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
Lake Huron Sculpins
A slimy sculpin (left) and deepwater sculpin (right), two native sculpin species in the Great Lakes, are compared side-by-side after capture in a bottom trawl during the Lake Huron fall forage survey aboard the R/V Arcticus. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
A slimy sculpin (left) and deepwater sculpin (right), two native sculpin species in the Great Lakes, are compared side-by-side after capture in a bottom trawl during the Lake Huron fall forage survey aboard the R/V Arcticus. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
Sculpin Up-close
A native deepwater sculpin, captured by bottom trawl in the Lake Huron depths off Cheboygan, Michigan, is held for a quick photo op during the USGS Great Lakes Science Center fall forage sampling cruise aboard the R/V Arcticus. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
A native deepwater sculpin, captured by bottom trawl in the Lake Huron depths off Cheboygan, Michigan, is held for a quick photo op during the USGS Great Lakes Science Center fall forage sampling cruise aboard the R/V Arcticus. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
Great Lakes Science at Sunset
The USGS Great Lakes Science Center R/V Arcticus pulls into port in Cheboygan, Michigan, after a day of sampling in Lake Huron during the annual fall forage cruise. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
The USGS Great Lakes Science Center R/V Arcticus pulls into port in Cheboygan, Michigan, after a day of sampling in Lake Huron during the annual fall forage cruise. Photo credit: Cory Brant, USGS.
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