Ewaldo Leitão

About

I'm a Postdoctoral Associate at Duke University with Prof. Jean-Philippe Gibert. I have a PhD in Oceanography from University of Connecticut, under the supervision of Prof. Hans G. Dam. I also hold a Masters in Ecology, from Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, under supervision of of Prof. Kemal Ali Ger.

Research

I research ecology and evolution using a combination of experimental and theoretical framework to understand species interactions (predator-prey, competition, population dynamics) in the context of climate change. At heart, I'm a plankton ecologist. I currently work with freshwater protists, and I have worked with worked on the ecology of copepods and phytoplankton (including harmful algal species) across freshwater and marine ecosystems.

Publications

†Shared first authorship, *Undergraduate mentee

Published

• Ecological interactions mediate evolutionary responses to temperature in microbial communities,, Proceedings of Royal Society B (2026).
  Leitão, E.†, Liu, M.†*, Yammine, A., Han, Z., DeWitt, K. and Gibert, J. P.

• The energetic tug-of-war: shifting bottom-up and top-down control in aquatic food webs under rising temperatures, Aquatic Food Webs in the Anthropocene, Academic Press (2026).
  Gibert, J. P.†, Leitão, E.†, Han, Z.-Y., Wong, R., DeWitt, K., Silliman, B. R. and Wieczynski, D. J.

• Antagonistic interactions of the dinoflagellate Alexandrium catenella under simultaneous warming and acidification, Harmful Algae (2024).
  Leitão, E., Catellanos, D. F.*, Park, G. and Dam, H. G.

• Top-down regulation of filamentous cyanobacteria varies among a raptorial vs. current feeding copepod across multiple prey generations, Freshwater Biology (2021).
  Leitão, E., Panosso, R., Molica, R. and Ger, K. A.

• Selective grazing by a tropical copepod (Notodiaptomus iheringi) facilitates Microcystis dominance, Frontiers in Microbiology (2018).
  Leitão, E., Ger, K. A. and Panosso, R.

• Potential mechanisms for the tropical copepod Notodiaptomus to tolerate Microcystis toxicity, Journal of Plankton Research (2016).
  Ger, K. A., Leitão, E. and Panosso, R.

Under review / in press / in progress

• Warming adaptation amplifies the mismatch between growth rate and carrying capacity, In prep.
  Leitão, E., Mulligan, A.*, Pettit, E.* and Dam, H. G.

• Allochthonous matter quality and consumer traits regulate consumption pathways in freshwater plankton ecosystems, In review.
  Ger, K. A., Yetim, S., Metin, M., Yildiz, D., Yalçin, G., Calderó-Pascual, M., Leitão, E., Fiorentin, C., Nejtgaard, J., Jeppesen, E., and Beklioğlu, M.

• Thermal adaptation modulates functional response and stability of zooplankton – phytoplankton interactions, In prep.
  Leitão, E., Leles, S. G. and Dam, H. G.

For drafts, please email.

You can learn more about me by reading my CV:

CV (PDF)

Misc.

I love films, board games, volleyball, and reading novels in a hammock.