NTR: lichenicole

[diatomsRcool]

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Preferred term label

lichenicole

Synonyms

Textual definition

a parasite that only lives on lichen and uses lichen as its host

Suggested parent term

parasite (when it gets worked out)

Attribution

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2908-3327

[diatomsRcool]

@jhammock @KatjaSchulz what do you think of this?
Is a lichenicole always a fungus?

[KatjaSchulz]

I am no expert, but as far as I know lichenicole or lichenicolous are NOT used for lichen-associated arthropods. So I suspect it may be a specific mycological term. I would check though to make sure the association is always parasitic.

[diatomsRcool]

I'm going to err on the side of caution and not make this a parasite.
So that means it is an organism quality, describing where it lives.
Term: lichenicolous
Definition: An organismal quality inhering in a bearer by virtue of the bearer's ability to live on lichen exclusively.

Thoughts? @KatjaSchulz @jhammock?

[diatomsRcool]

@jhammock
Do you think the above will work for you?

[diatomsRcool]

If we treat this as an organism quality, it should go into PATO. Any objections? @jhammock @KatjaSchulz

[KatjaSchulz]

It looks like the PATO organismal quality class is a grab bag for a number of different things. They already have a few ecomorphological terms in there, e.g. arboreal: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/PATO_0095004
Riffing off the PATO definition for arboreal, I like this alternative definition for lichenicolous: An organismal quality inhering in a bearer by virtue of the bearer's morphological and physiological adaptation for living exclusively on lichen.