PRIMARY RESEARCH PAPER Effects of different intertidal hard substrates on the recruitment of Crassostrea gigas Mauro F. Carrasco . Leonardo A. Venerus . Nilda E. Weiler . Pedro J. Baro ´n Received: 14 June 2018 / Revised: 15 September 2018 / Accepted: 17 September 2018 Ó Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2018 Abstract Physical properties, distribution, and abundance of natural hard substrates are important variables modulating the potential distribution of sessile aquatic species. In this study, we analyze the effects of the geological origin of different rock types common in intertidal environments of Argentina on the recruitment success of the nonindigenous Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas, accounting for spatial and interannual variation. A series of experiments showed that although recruitment occurs on all of the five most widespread hard substrates in the region (i.e., pelitic mudstone, limestone, conglomeradic sabulitic sand- stone, gray sandstone, and volcanic rock) it is signif- icantly higher on pelitic mudstone. Accounting for the geographic distribution of these substrate types along the coast of Argentina, it is concluded that the Valde ´s Peninsula and central San Jorge Gulf areas, where pelitic mudstone outcrops are the dominant intertidal hard substrate, are the regions with highest potential for C. gigas intertidal reef formation. Pelitic mudstone displayed the highest mean values of specific heat and porosity as well as high values of luminosity. Handling editor: Vasilis Valavanis N. E. Weiler Centro Nacional Patago ´nico (CENPAT-CONICET), Boulevard Brown 2915, (U9120ACD) Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina e-mail: weiler@cenpat-conicet.gob.ar L. A. Venerus Á P. J. Baro ´n Centro para el Estudio de Sistemas Marinos (CESIMAR- CONICET) –Edificio CCT CONICET–CENPAT, Boulevard Brown 2915, (U9120ACD) Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina e-mail: leo@cenpat-conicet.gob.ar P. J. Baro ´n e-mail: baron@cenpat-conicet.gob.ar M. F. Carrasco (&) Secretarı ´a de Ciencia, Tecnologı ´a e Innovacio ´n Productiva del Chubut, Belgrano 914, (U9103ASE) Rawson, Chubut, Argentina e-mail: maurofabian.carrasco@gmail.com M. F. Carrasco Á N. E. Weiler Á P. J. Baro ´n Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia ‘‘San Juan Bosco’’, Boulevard Brown 3051, (U9120ACE) Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina M. F. Carrasco Universidad de Chubut, Sede Puerto Madryn, Leandro N. Alem 1573, (U9120OOW) Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina 123 Hydrobiologia https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-018-3774-x