The framing of environmental conservation has been changing, mainly towards a reconciliation between human needs and nature conservation. A major challenge of biosphere reserves (BRs) is the integration of biodiversity conservation and the sustainable development of local communities. Although these areas are large, they are often not large enough to contain the movements of wide-ranging species. We studied immature Andean condor (Vultur gryphus) movements to evaluate their habitat use in relation to protected areas (PAs). We particularly aimed to determine whether BRs significantly increase the protection of this wide-ranging species. We analysed the movement overlap of 26 GPS-tagged birds with the PAs of Patagonia, and we evaluated preferences for particular landscape categories with a use–availability design. Condors were mainly located in unprotected areas (56.4%), whereas 26.4% of locations were within International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) PAs and 17.2% of locations were in BRs (not including IUCN PAs). When compared to availability, birds preferred BRs over other areas, highlighting the importance of BRs in protecting species that forage in humanized areas. However, the lack of controls and management policies expose condors to several threats, such as poisoning and persecution, in both private lands and BRs. Implementing strict management practices for BRs will help to conserve wide-ranging scavengers that feed in humanized areas.

The swimming crab Achelous spinimanus is an important fishery component of several countries in the Western Atlantic; therefore, knowledge of the different phases of its life cycle is essential for good management of this resource. The juvenile development of A. spinimanus was investigated in the laboratory, from megalopae captured in neuston samples at Ubatuba, São Paulo, Brazil (23°26′S 46°09′W), during the summer months of 2005–2007. Rearing was performed in a constant temperature (25 ± 1°C), filtered seawater from the collection location (35 psu) and natural photoperiod. We obtained nine stages of the juvenile phase. All the morphological characters that allow the recognition of the first juvenile stage were drawn and described, as well as the main alterations that occur in the following stages. The sexual differentiation based on the number of pleopods becomes apparent from the third stage on. Some important characters in the identification of the species at the juvenile phase are the number of segments on the exopod of antennule, on the antennal flagellum and on the palp of mandible, beyond the absence of pleopods (even rudimentary) in the first stage.