Nickel compounds in dissolved form or as nanoparticles may affect planktonic invertebrates in marine ecosystems.
Here, we assessed the physiological (naupliar mortality, egg production, egg hatching success) and molecular
(quantitative gene expression) responses of the crustacean copepods Acartia clausi (indigenous
Mediterranean species) and Acartia tonsa (model organism in ecotoxicology), to nickel nanoparticles (NiNPs) and
nickel chloride (NiCl2), over time. We also measured NPs size and the temporal release of Ni ions in aqueous
solution, through dynamic light scattering (DLS) and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS),
respectively.