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New Mexico State University

Colleen Caldwell

Image of Colleen Caldwell
Colleen Caldwell

Title: Unit Leader and Adjunct Associate Professor

Research area: Fish physiology, aquatic toxicology and conservation biology

Office location: Knox 125

Email Address: ccaldwel@nmsu.edu

Office Phone: 575-646-8126

Office Fax: 575-646-1281

Education:

  • Ph.D., University of Tennessee-Knoxville, 1988
  • M.S., Southwest Texas State University, 1985
  • B.S., Texas A & M University, 1982

Professional Experience:

  • 2006-Present: Unit Leader, New Mexico Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Ecology, New Mexico State University
  • 2004-Present: Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Ecology, New Mexico State University
  • 2004-2006: Acting Unit Leader, New Mexico Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Fishery and Wildlife Sciences, New Mexico State University
  • 1994-2004: Assistant Unit Leader, Fisheries, New Mexico Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Fishery and Wildlife Sciences, New Mexico State University
  • 1994-2004: Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Fishery and Wildlife Sciences, New Mexico State University

Research Interests: What makes a fish, a fish? My research is multidisciplinary and relies on a broad in-depth knowledge of fisheries and aquatic sciences and the related technical disciplines of aquatic contaminants, aquatic ecotoxicology, fish physiology, chemistry, and conservation ecology. Examples of my fisheries research program include elucidating physiological responses to environmental stressors, diet development, fish husbandry and aquaculture, reproductive cues, fish health, disease, effects of drought, grazing and wildfire on fish habitat, and climate change on native imperiled fishes of the southwest. Much of my research program revolves around the effects that environmental disturbances have on aquatic organisms. This area of research involves innovative approaches to characterize the magnitude and duration of the environmental effects at multiple levels of biological organization (from the cellular level to the community and population levels). Examples of my aquatic contaminants research program include characterizing the fate and effects of mercury, PCBs, and heavy metals in arid-lands reservoirs, oxbows, and rivers. Despite New Mexico's arid climate, its reservoirs, rivers, and high mountain meadow streams provide ample opportunity to investigate the impact that overutilization and an ever changing climate has on its precious and limited aquatic resources.

Selected Publications:

  • Caldwell, C.A., F.T. Barrows, M. Ulibarri, and W.R. Gould. 2010. Diet optimization of juvenile Rio Grande silvery minnow. North American Journal of Aquaculture 72:57-64.
  • Cho, S.J., C.A. Caldwell and W.R. Gould. 2009. Physiological stress responses of Rio Grande silvery minnow: Effects of individual and multiple physical stressors of handling, confinement, and transport. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 29:1698-1706.
  • Sanchez, B.C. and C.A. Caldwell. 2008. Assessment of exposure risk of polychlorinated biphenyls to interior least terns (Sterna antillarum). Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 27:617-622.
  • DuBey, R.J., C.A. Caldwell, and W.R. Gould. 2007. Relative susceptibility and effects on performance of Rio Grande cutthroat trout and rainbow trout challenged with Myxobolous cerebralis. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 136:1406-1414.
  • Caldwell, C.A., P. Swartzendrubber and E. Prestbo. 2006. Concentration and dry deposition of mercury species in arid south central New Mexico (2001-2002). Environmental Science and Technology 40:7535-7540.

Current Projects

  • Effects of Thermal Tolerance Limits on the Distribution and Restoration of Southwestern Native Salmonids. Funded by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Science Support Program (2008-2011)
  • Culture and Life History Aspects of Native Fishes in New Mexico. Funded by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Dexter National Fish Hatchery and Technology Center (2001-2011)
  • Effects of Climate Change on Distribution and Continued Persistence of Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout. Funded by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Science Support Program (2008-2011)
  • Population Distribution and Genetic Assessment of Rio Grande Chub (Gila pandora). Funded by U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Santa Fe National Forest (2009-2012)
  • Determining Condition-Productivity, Condition-Survival, and Habitat-Condition Relationships for Desert Bighorn Sheep on the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge. Funded by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Science Support Program (2008-2012)
  • Productivity of Pronghorn Population and Resource Selection in the Chihuahuan Desert of White Sands Missile Range, South-central New Mexico. Funded by U.S. Geological Survey, Cooperative Research Units (2009-2011)