Influences of natural and anthropogenic processes on the occurrence of fauna in coastal dunes

Coastal dunes represent habitat for wildlife yet are chronically understudied in that regard, and are threatened by anthropogenically driven processes from their landward and seaward margins. For example, wind and sea erosion creates a gradient in vegetation structure, increasing landward from the coast and may influence faunal occurrence. I deployed 93 downward-facing cameras along the coastal dunes of Venus Bay, Victoria, to examine the influence of natural and anthropogenic processes on the occurrence of fauna. Of the 32 species identified, ten had sufficient data for single-species, single-season occupancy modelling. One species (Common Wombat) occurred ubiquitously in dunes and can be regarded as a generalist within the dunescape. For eight species, site occupancy increased with increasing distance from the coast. Areas with more unmodified dune trended towards lower species site occupancy for seven species. More structurally complex vegetation was associated with a higher site occupancy for four species. Two species had higher site occupancies where natural and urban hinterland types occurred. Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) featured in one species model, with a weak negative trend of vegetation productivity on occurrence. I found that coastal dunes are a diverse faunal ecosystem, with species varying in their occurrence and the factors which influence it. The most prominent effect on most species was distinct zonation of faunal distributions, but aspects of vegetation also influenced some patterns of occupancy, as did hinterland land-use.