[citation needed] The red grouper's typical range is coastal areas in the western Atlantic, stretching from southern Brazil to North Carolina in the US and including the Gulf of Mexico and Bermuda.

[1] The red grouper is a demersal, largely sedentary species which has an extended (~40 day) pelagic larval stage before it settles in shallow coastal hardbottom habitat as juveniles.

They use their caudal fin and their mouths to remove debris and sediment from rocks, creating exposed surfaces on which sessile organisms actively settle (e.g., sponges, soft corals, algae).

The exposure of structure also attracts a myriad of other species, including mobile invertebrates and a remarkable diversity of other fishes, from gobies and butterflyfish to grunts and snapper.

Known for being extremely capable predators on small reef fish, scientists are very interested in determining the extent to which their invasion changes the functional dynamics of associated communities.

[1] The major threat to the species' survival is overfishing, with possible contributions in the Gulf of Mexico from hypoxia, algal blooms, oil and gas exploration and increasing sea temperatures due to climate change.