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Habitat modification and invasive species are among the most important contemporary drivers of biodiversity loss. These two threatening processes are often studied independently and few studies have focused on how they interact to influence species declines. Here we assess the predation pressure placed on the threatened great desert skink (Liopholis kintorei) and how this interacts with fire‐induced habitat modifications. We collected daily track data of potential predators for 1 month at 30 great desert skink burrow‐systems where vegetation cover varied significantly after experimental burns. We used these data to evaluate potential predation pressure at the burrow‐system and assess whether fire influenced predator pressure. We supplemented this analysis by documenting predation via the inspection of large mammalian predator scats collected from great desert skink habitat. The level of feral cat activity at a burrow‐system entrance was significantly higher than that of any other potential predator, however fire had no effect on the visitation rates of feral cats, dingoes or large snakes to great desert skink burrow‐systems. The remains of great desert skink were found significantly more frequently in feral cat scats, compared to fox and dingo scats. We provide the first direct evidence that feral cats are a significant predator for great desert skink, thus supporting the hypothesis that feral cat predation is a key threatening process. Feral cat activity was not influenced by small‐scale experimental burns, however, this does not preclude an effect of larger scale fires and we recommend further research exploring this possible interaction.

Rock boulders or ‘bush-rocks’ provide essential habitat for many organisms and there has been interest in rehabilitating areas denuded of rock with artificial substitutes. We examine whether the density and size of bush rock influences the density of the coppertail skink (Ctenotus taeniolatus). The success of habitat rehabilitation is contingent on dispersal of rock-dwelling organisms into areas that have been remediated. To gauge the likelihood of this we characterize geneflow of coppertail skinks among discrete patches of rocky habitat associated with ridge tops. We genotyped 154 individuals from seven localities at six microsatellite DNA loci and from a subset of these individuals we obtained sequence data from the mitochondrial ND4 region. Our field survey established that lizard density was positively associated with the availability of suitably sized bush-rock (P