# Can Vegetation Removal Successfully Restore Coastal Dune Biodiversity?
## 3 Results
### Indicator Species
All MIS abundances fluctuated stochastically on the mobile dunes over time (Figure 12a-d). They were all observed with relatively low to zero abundance on semi-fixed control dunes, with the exception of the lizard _A. scutellatus_, with intermediate abundance in semi-fixed dunes. All MIS were effectively absent from fixed control dunes. In semi-fixed treated dunes, the abundances of both the rodent _G. pyramidum_ and the beetle _S. striatus_ were similar to untreated semi-fixed dunes (i.e., low abundance) and were significantly different from AC, until 2016. In the final year of monitoring, the abundances of both these species increased and they became similar (not significantly different from) mobile dunes and significantly different from untreated semi-fixed dunes (Figure 12a,c). The same was partially true of the annual _C. memphtica_, which was similar to untreated semi-fixed dunes until the final year 2016, but was not consistent across years in comparison to mobile dunes (Figure 12d). The lizard _A. scutellatus_ showed a small but similar trend in the final year of monitoring in treated semi-fixed dunes, but it remained significantly different from mobile dunes for all years, and similar to untreated semi-fixed dunes in all years except 2013 (Figure 12b). \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c} \hline \hline
**Indictors** & **Taxa** & **Species** & **ST** & **CT** & **DT** \\ \hline (i) Mobile IS & (a) Rodent & _G. pyramidum_ & 126\% & 15\% & 0\% \\  & (b) Reptile & _A. scutellatus_ & 67\% & 15\% & 4\% \\  & (c) Beetle & _S. striatus_ & 42\% & 27\% & 0\% \\  & (d) Annual & _C. memphtica_ & - & 114\% & \(-\)181\% \\ \hline (ii) Fixed IS & (a) Rodent & _G. a. andersoni_ & 158\% & 12\% & 30\% \\  & (b) Reptile & _A. scherberi_ & 180\% & 36\% & \(-\)2\% \\  & (c) Beetle & _G. sharonae_ & 127\% & 30\% & 33\% \\  & (d) Annual & _B. rigidus_ & - & 42\% & 21\% \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 2: Effectiveness of treated dunes on abundance of Mobile and Fixed-dune Indicator Species (IS). Calculated as the change (either increase or decrease) in abundance (faunal taxa) or % cover (annuals) from control to treated dune, as a percentage of the difference in abundance between control and reference dunes for each species. In the fixed dunes, none of the MIS were found to have differences in abundance between treated and un-treated fixed dunes (i.e., they remained absent or in very low abundance), and all the f and 2016 (Figure 12g). The annual plant _B. rigidus_ had generally very low cover in all dune types (Figure 12h). The cover in treated semi-fixed dunes was similar to mobile dunes in all years (i.e., absent) and similar to untreated semi-fixed dunes in all years except 2014, when some presence was observed on untreated semi-fixed dunes, while remaining absent from treated semi-fixed dunes. In the treated fixed dunes, abundance of _G. a. allenbyi_ was initially different to mobile dunes but became similar in the later years of the study (Figure 12e). However, abundance of this species in DC also showed declines until 2009, and abundance in treated and untreated fixed dunes was similar in all years except 2005 and 2008. Unfortunately, data is lacking for the period between 2009-2016 on treated fixed dunes, and trends in the interim years are unknown. The other FIS, _A. schreiberi, G. sharonae_, and _B. rigidus_ had similar abundances on treated and untreated fixed dunes throughout all years, despite stochasticity (Figure 12f-h). A marked increase in cover was observed in the last year of the study for _B. rigidus_, but this was detected in both treated and untreated fixed dunes, so overall, no difference was found. Both _G. sharonae_ and _B. rigidus_ were absent from mobile dunes in all years. All three FIS were significantly different from mobile dunes in all years (Figure 12e-g), excluding years where _B. rigidus_ was absent in both treated and untreated fixed dunes and mobile dunes (Figure 12h). In the disturbed dunes, all FIS were effectively absent, with the exception of _G.