Habitat

          Naegleria fowleri is a very unique organism.. This species lives in specific environments but within those specific environments there are many types that N. fowleri occupy. N.fowleri does better in certain environments and also has adapted to different habitats the organism normally does not live in. This organism is also not the only species to occupy the habitats N. fowleri  inhabit.

            First N. fowleri live in a certain type of environment which must be water, soil, or sediment (Martinez and Govinda 2003). Soil and sediment are straight forward but there are certain kinds of water that this organism can live in and cannot live in (Martinez and Govinda 2003). For example N. fowleri can occupy fresh water, thermal discharges of power plants, heated swimming pools, hydrotherapy, remedial pools, and sewage (Martinez and Govinda 2003). One water environment that N. fowleri cannot inhabit is treated water also known as chlorine (Martinez and Govinda 2003).  This species is usually found in summer months because this is the time people usually come in contact with N. fowleri and get infected (Martinez and Govinda 2003). Even though this lineage is mostly found in the summer months it can be found throughout the whole year (Chen 2013). 

            Secondly, since N. fowleri is found in such common habitats, the species is found all around the world in all of the wide range of habitats (Chen 2013). For example this lineage has been found in North America, mostly in the southern states, Mexico, Europe, Australia, Asia, and other places too (Chen 2013). Scientists found this species in all of these places because those are the places where people got infected with Primary Amebic Meningocephalitis (Chen 2013). This is the infection people get from N. fowleri and is also known as PAM (Chen 2013).  Also N. fowleri can withstand hot temperatures up to 45.8ᵒC which is 114.44ᵒF (Chen 2013). That is an incredibly hot environment and many species cannot live in that warm of conditions (Chen 2013). Since this species can be found in that warm of an environment N. fowleri have been found in hot springs (Chen 2013). Since N. fowleri can withstand such heat they are known to be able to withstand extreme environments too (Chen 2013).

Photo From: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention            Thirdly, N. fowleri may have a variety of habitats but the species does better in certain types of habitats than other types (Martinez 1996). N. fowleri succeeds the most in the tropics and are more common in fresh warm water (Martinez 1996). Since this species does best in warm water and in the tropics N. fowleri it raises the question why are they not only in those environments but the species were able to adapt to these other type of environments (Martinez 1996). This species is usually not found in chlorinated swimming pools but if the pools are not properly chlorinated at all times it is possible for the N. fowleri to be able to succeed and live in that environment (Martinez 1996). Another unique place this lineage has been found before is an air conditioning unit (Martinez 1996). This was very unique because it is not a soil, sediment, or a water environment (Martinez 1996). Since N. fowleri were found in an air conditioning unit it just shows how adaptive this organism truly is (Martinez 1996). N. fowleri have to get to all of these environments somehow and one way scientists think it travels is when it is in cyst form (Martinez 1996).

            Lastly N. fowleri is not the only organism that occupies the habitats this species lives in (Martinez and Govinda 2003). Bacteria also live in the same type of environment as N. fowleri because bacteria are the food source of this organism (Martinez and Govinda 2003). Another organism that lives in the same environment is Entamoeba histolytica which can be found in the tropics habitat (Martinez and Govinda 2003). Fresh water contains a lot of organisms and some of the organisms that may be found in the same environment as N. fowleri  are the freshwater drums, fathead minnows, green algae, and many more organisms.  These are just a few types of organisms that can live in the same habitats as N. fowleri.

            In conclusion N. fowleri live in specific types of habitats such as water, soil, and sediment. This species occupies many types of water environments and can be very adaptable to other habitats. N. fowleri can be found all around the world in the habitats this organism occupies but there are other species that live in these environments too.

 

                               Previous: Classification            Home Page           Next: Human Cases