Renee Takesue
Science and Products
Coral Reef Project
Explore the fascinating undersea world of coral reefs. Learn how we map, monitor, and model coral reefs so we can better understand, protect, and preserve our Nation's reefs.
Estuaries and large river deltas in the Pacific Northwest
Essential habitat for wild salmon and other wildlife borders river deltas and estuaries in the Pacific Northwest. These estuaries also support industry, agriculture, and a large human population that’s expected to double by the year 2060, but each could suffer from more severe river floods, higher sea level, and storm surges caused by climate change.
Legacy and current-use toxic contaminants in Pacific sand lance (Ammodytes personatus) from Puget Sound, Washington
Forage fish are primary prey for seabirds, fish and marine mammals. Elevated levels of pollutants in Puget Sound, Washington salmon and killer whale tissues potentially could be sufficiently high to elicit adverse effects and hamper population recovery efforts. Contaminant transfer and biomagnification of the toxic compounds measured in this study...
Conn, Kathleen E.; Liedtke, Theresa L.; Takesue, Renee K.; Dinicola, Richard S. Physicochemical controls on zones of higher coral stress where Black Band Disease occurs at Mākua Reef, Kauaʻi, Hawaiʻi
Pervasive and sustained coral diseases contribute to the systemic degradation of reef ecosystems, however, to date an understanding of the physicochemical controls on a coral disease event is still largely lacking. Water circulation and residence times and submarine groundwater discharge all determine the degree to which reef organisms are exposed...
Oberle, Ferdinand; Storlazzi, Curt D.; Cheriton, Olivia; Takesue, Renee K.; Hoover, Daniel J.; Logan, Joshua B.; Runyon, Christina M.; Kellogg, Christina A.; Johnson, Cordell; Swarzenski, Peter W.
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, and metals in ambient sediment at mussel biomonitoring sites, Puget Sound, Washington
Caged mussels used as biomonitors can provide insights about ambient contaminant assemblages and spatial patterns, sources of contaminants, and contaminant exposure risks for consumers of wild and farmed mussels. This study explored the potential role of ambient sediment in the uptake of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated...
Takesue, Renee K.; Campbell‐Swarzenski, Pamela L.; Conn, Kathleen E. Sources, timing, and fate of sediment and contaminants in the nearshore: insights from geochemistry
Rivers in Cascade watersheds carry sediment with a volcanic composition that is distinct from the plutonic composition of the Puget lowlands. Compositional properties (signatures) allow discrimination of river-sourced Cascade from lowland sediment, and inferences about transport pathways. Surface sediment on land contains atmospheric radionuclides...
Takesue, Renee K.; Conn, Kathleen E.; Dutch, Margaret
Stream sediment geochemistry of four small drainages on the north shore of Kauai west of Hanalei
Geochemical compositions of fine-grained stream sediment from four drainages on the north shore of the island of Kauai, Hawaii, west of Hanalei and two back-beach sites were explored to increase understanding about land-based runoff and ecological risk from runoff to nearshore coral communities. Stream and beach sediment were collected between...
Takesue, Renee K.; Storlazzi, Curt D.
Contaminant baselines and sediment provenance along the Puget Sound Energy Transport Corridor, 2015
The transport of coal and oil can result in contaminated soil, water, and organisms from unintended releases. Trains carrying coal and crude oil regularly pass through Puget Sound, Washington, and an increase in the number of coal and oil trains is expected in the future. This study characterized levels of potentially toxic contaminants in...
Takesue, Renee K.; Campbell, Pamela L. Geochemical sourcing of runoff from a young volcanic watershed to an impacted coral reef in Pelekane Bay, Hawaii
Runoff of sediment and other contaminants from developed watersheds threatens coastal ecosystems and services. A sediment geochemical sourcing study was undertaken on a sediment-impacted coral reef flat to identify terrestrial sediment sources and how these changed over time. Geochemical signatures were identified for watershed...
Takesue, Renee K.; Storlazzi, Curt D.
Tracking riverborne sediment and contaminants in Commencement Bay, Washington, using geochemical signatures
Large rivers carry terrestrial sediment, contaminants, and other materials to the coastal zone where they can affect marine biogeochemical cycles and ecosystems. This U.S. Geological Survey study combined river and marine sediment geochemistry and organic contaminant analyses to identify riverborne sediment and associated contaminants at shoreline...
Takesue, Renee K.; Conn, Kathleen E.; Dinicola, Richard S. Sources and dispersal of land-based runoff from small Hawaiian drainages to a coral reef: Insights from geochemical signatures
Land-based sediment and contaminant runoff is a major threat to coral reefs, and runoff reduction efforts would benefit from knowledge of specific runoff sources. Geochemical signatures of small drainage basins were determined in the fine fraction of soil and sediment, then used in the nearshore region of a coral reef-fringed urban embayment on...
Takesue, Renee K.; Storlazzi, Curt D.
Environmental and eelgrass response to dike removal: Nisqually River Delta (2010–14)
Restoration of tidal flows to formerly diked marshland can alter land-to-sea fluxes and patterns of accumulation of terrestrial sediment and organic matter, and these tidal flows can also affect existing nearshore habitats. Dikes were removed from 308 hectares (ha) of the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge on the Nisqually River Delta in south...
Takesue, Renee K.
Eelgrass habitat near Liberty Bay: Chapter 5
Seagrasses are a widespread type of marine flowering plants that grow in nearshore intertidal and subtidal zones. Seagrass beds are ecologically important because they affect physical, biological, and chemical characteristics of nearshore habitat, and they are sensitive to changes in coastal water quality (Stevenson and others, 1993; Koch, 2001;...
Takesue, Renee K.; Dinicola, Richard S. Integration of bed characteristics, geochemical tracers, current measurements, and numerical modeling for assessing the provenance of beach sand in the San Francisco Bay Coastal System
Over 150 million m3 of sand-sized sediment has disappeared from the central region of the San Francisco Bay Coastal System during the last half century. This enormous loss may reflect numerous anthropogenic influences, such as watershed damming, bay-fill development, aggregate mining, and dredging. The reduction in Bay sediment also...
Barnard, Patrick L.; Jaffe, Bruce E.; Schoellhamer, David H.; Barnard, Patrick L.; Foxgrover, Amy C.; Elias, Edwin P. L.; Erikson, Li H.; Hein, James R.; McGann, Mary; Mizell, Kira; Rosenbauer, Robert J.; Swarzenski, Peter W.; Takesue, Renee K.; Wong, Florence L.; Woodrow, Donald L.
Tracking the movement of sediment and contaminants from northern California wildfire areas to San Francisco Bay
USGS research geologist Renee Takesue of the Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center collected 20 sediment samples from Sonoma Creek and Napa River north of San Francisco Bay on March 17.