The main habitats monitored are unvegetated sediments (e.g. mud and sand areas) and areas vegetated with salt marsh and seagrass. Degraded habitat is a major contributor to reduced aquatic ecosystem health.
Usage guide: Toggle between tabs to see different habitat monitoring summaries. Click and drag the year slider on each map (if available) to see change over time, and hover over map data to see specific values.
In terms of estuarine health, a key broad scale focus is on understanding the spatial extent and temporal change in mud-dominated sediment (>50% mud content) across intertidal areas.
See Stevens et al. 2016 for technical methods, data tables, and further information
Our native plants and animals (indigenous biodiversity) are unique, and essential to supporting healthy ecosystems, communities and wellbeing. The Natural Resources Plan for the Wellington region identifies the following sites with significant indigenous biodiversity values (SIBVs) in the Te Whanganui-a-Tara coastal marine area.
See GW 2023 for technical methods, data tables, and further information
Characterisation and mapping of shallow animal-dominated habitats (<30 m depth) in the Wellington Region. Sample locations are denoted by circles on the map below and their radius scaled by respective habitat quality scores (1-10).
See Micaroni et al. 2023 for technical methods, data tables, and further information