Robinsons Bay/Ngā Ka Kai Au is located in upper Akaroa Harbour and has a gently sloping 24.1 ha intertidal mudflat that is submerged at high tide and exposed at low tide.
The site has been monitored since 2009 because of its extensive seagrass meadows, which have significant ecological value due to their large size and habitat for many marine species. Mud content and macrofauna are monitored annually and sediment quality every 2-3 years.
The benthic communities in Robinsons Bay/Ngā Ka Kai Au have 'fair' health.
This dashboard shows information on the data collected by the regional councils and unitary authorities for the Estuary health scientific indicators, click the tiles for more information:
The Estuary Macrofauna Score is based on the composition of the macrofaunal community and tells us how impacted the monitored site is by mud (via a Mud Benthic Health Model). The calculated scores are continuous and represent a gradient of impact. Low scores indicate low impacts from mud (good health), whereas high scores indicate high impact (poor health). Scores are converted into one of five categories for visualisation and to easily compare sites, however the thresholds between categories do not necessarily reflect breakpoints in ecological condition. See the Estuary macrofauna factsheet for more information.
Mud content refers to the amount of fine silt and clay particles (collectively called ‘mud’) that are present in the estuary sandflats. This figure shows (mean) annual mud content measured at the monitoring site. The annual values are assessed against custom, national guidelines that indicate increasingly negative impacts on the macrofaunal community.
Ecology is not negatively impacted.
The diversity of the macrofauna community is slightly reduced.
The diversity of the macrofauna community is reduced and less resilient to disturbance.
The macrofauna community is unbalanced and dominated by a small number of tolerant species.
The macrofauna community is degraded.
View results alongside National guidelines:
View results alongside alternative guidelines:
This figure shows the (mean) annual contaminant concentration measured in the sediments of the monitored site. The annual values are assessed against the ANZG 2018 guidelines by default, and you can choose to view them assessed against several additional, more conservative guidelines. All of the guidelines show how likely it is that the contaminant is having negative ecological impacts. See the Contaminants factsheet for more information.
View results alongside National guidelines:
View results alongside alternative guidelines:
This figure shows the (mean) annual contaminant concentration measured in the sediments of the monitored site. The annual values are assessed against the ANZG 2018 guidelines by default, and you can choose to view them assessed against several additional, more conservative guidelines. All of the guidelines show how likely it is that the contaminant is having negative ecological impacts. See the Contaminants factsheet for more information.
View results alongside National guidelines:
View results alongside alternative guidelines:
This figure shows the (mean) annual contaminant concentration measured in the sediments of the monitored site. The annual values are assessed against the ANZG 2018 guidelines by default, and you can choose to view them assessed against several additional, more conservative guidelines. All of the guidelines show how likely it is that the contaminant is having negative ecological impacts. See the Contaminants factsheet for more information.