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The complex morphodynamic interactions between nearshore, shoreface and dune systems are usually simplified by studying these zones and their associated processes in isolation. However, the established relationships between each of them suggests that an integrated approach is required to examine the genesis, evolution and adaptation of the entire morphodynamic system. The Cabopino dune system in the southern Spanish Mediterranean Sea provides a clear example of a linked morphodynamic system in which a relatively large dune system has been generated and grown through the supply of sediments from an adjacent littoral supply environment. Here, we present a conceptual model of how the nearshore has provided suitable conditions for beach and dune development. We purport that synchronization of sediment activation in the marine and aeolian sections of the system have played a major role in this microtidal setting in which temporal aspects are not only tied to storm action, but to large sedimentary features moving alongshore. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]