| Summary: | <p class="first" id="d4666e286">Terrestrial, marine and freshwater realms are inherently linked through ecological,
biogeochemical and/or physical processes. An understanding of these connections is
critical to optimise management strategies and ensure the ongoing resilience of ecosystems.
Artificial light at night (ALAN) is a global stressor that can profoundly affect a
wide range of organisms and habitats and impact multiple realms. Despite this, current
management practices for light pollution rarely consider connectivity between realms.
Here we discuss the ways in which ALAN can have cross-realm impacts and provide case
studies for each example discussed. We identified three main ways in which ALAN can
affect two or more realms: 1) impacts on species that have life cycles and/or stages
in two or more realms, such as diadromous fish that cross realms during ontogenetic
migrations and many terrestrial insects that have juvenile phases of the life cycle
in aquatic realms; 2) impacts on species interactions that occur across realm boundaries,
and 3) impacts on transition zones or ecosystems such as mangroves and estuaries.
We then propose a framework for cross-realm management of light pollution and discuss
current challenges and potential solutions to increase the uptake of a cross-realm
approach for ALAN management. We argue that the strengthening and formalisation of
professional networks that involve academics, lighting practitioners, environmental
managers and regulators that work in multiple realms is essential to provide an integrated
approach to light pollution. Networks that have a strong multi-realm and multi-disciplinary
focus are important as they enable a holistic understanding of issues related to ALAN.
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