The Red Snapper Lutjanus campechanus is a reef-associated species found throughout the Gulf of Mexico that relies on artificial structures for habitat. In this study, we used Bayesian models to determine habitat selection by different sizes and ages of female Red Snapper and to identify whether there was a difference in habitat selection between immature and mature fish. Red Snapper (n = 693) were sampled using vertical longlines from March or April through November of 2016–2018 off the coast of Mississippi at different artificial structure types (platforms, artificial reefs, and rigs-to-reef structures [hereafter, “rigs-to-reefs”]) and depths (shallow, <20 m; mid-depth, 20–49 m; and deep, 50–100 m). To adjust for the traditional occurrence of mature fish being larger and older than immature fish, only fish within the intersection of the FL (n = 616) and age (n = 622) ranges of immature and mature classes were used in these analyses. Fork length and age of immature and mature fish increased with increasing depth, but immature fish had a larger increase in FL per unit depth than mature fish. Immature fish on artificial reefs were found to be older than immature fish at platforms, while there was no age difference between the two structures for mature fish. There was no difference in FL or age between rigs-to-reefs and platforms or artificial reefs for immature fish, but FL and age of mature fish were greater at rigs-to-reefs than at platforms and artificial reefs. However, maturity did not play a role in how age increased with depth or with differences in FL between artificial reefs and platforms for mature fish. These differences in habitat use based on maturity should be considered along with FL and age to inform management regulations for Red Snapper.

中文翻译：

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成熟度在雌性红鲷鱼人工栖息地选择中的作用

红鲷鱼Lutjanus campechanus是一种与珊瑚礁相关的物种，分布在整个墨西哥湾，依靠人工结构作为栖息地。在这项研究中，我们使用贝叶斯模型来确定不同大小和年龄的雌性红鲷鱼的栖息地选择，并确定未成熟和成熟鱼之间的栖息地选择是否存在差异。红鲷鱼 ( n = 693) 在 2016 年至 2018 年 3 月或 4 月至 11 月期间在密西西比海岸附近的不同人工结构类型（平台、人工鱼礁和钻机对珊瑚礁结构[下称“钻机对珊瑚礁”]）和深度（浅层，<20 m；中层深度，20-49 m；和深，50-100 m）。为了调整成熟鱼比未成熟鱼更大和更老的传统出现，只有在 FL ( n  = 616) 和年龄 ( n = 622) 在这些分析中使用了不成熟和成熟类别的范围。未成熟和成熟鱼的叉长和年龄随着深度的增加而增加，但未成熟鱼每单位深度的 FL 增加幅度大于成熟鱼。发现人工鱼礁上的未成熟鱼比平台上的未成熟鱼年龄大，而成熟鱼的两种结构之间没有年龄差异。对于未成熟鱼，钻机到礁与平台或人工鱼礁之间的 FL 或年龄没有差异，但钻机到礁的 FL 和成熟鱼年龄大于平台和人工鱼礁。然而，成熟度在年龄如何随着深度增加或人工鱼礁和成熟鱼平台之间的 FL 差异方面没有发挥作用。