Host-dependent organisms perceive heterogeneity of the environment organized at multiple hierarchical levels and spatial scales, ranging from individual hosts, to the local ecological neighborhood, to the larger habitat or landscape. Hosts are often treated as identical replicates of resource patches for their dependent organisms, but there is evidence that their ecological neighborhoods should be extended to include interactions among the host community. The relationship between community dissimilarity and spatial distance suggests that communities of dispersal limited organisms, such as mites may show spatial autocorrelation. At a relatively small spatial scale, we identified potential impacts of surrounding ant nests on mite diversity in a focal nest (2 m). At a large spatial scale (0-120 m), we tested for distance-decay (spatial autocorrelation) in ant-associated mite communities. Together, these studies are used to determine the influence and extent of ecological neighborhoods and dispersal limitations in host associated mites. Ant colonies surrounded by nests of large-bodied ants had significantly higher mite abundances. Mite species composition showed significant spatial autocorrelation for the overall Mantel test, and correlograms revealed spatial dependence at the first distance class (<20 m). Spatial autocorrelations of mite abundance and richness (Moran's I) showed no significant relationships with distance, though correlations were strongest at the first distance class. Our findings demonstrate that phoretic mite communities are influenced by host community dynamics beyond their individual host or host’s nest. These dispersal-limited organisms follow established ecological principles including distance-decay and ecological neighborhood theory.
