Yeah sure
Most common use is level streaming can be used to make large environments but, in 3ds Max speak, can be used to x-reference individual levels as part of the combined persistent level. I would guess Maya would have a similar ability/feature but the basic idea is to allow content creators to work on the same project as a team project and split up file ownership with out the need to a single persistent project.
To access the level streaming feature you will find it under Window>Levels. From there you can add existing, create a new level, merge as well as move or copy assets from one level to another. One of the tools is the ability to switch the visibility from BP controlled to always loaded.
There are a few ways to do world compositing but level streaming is a trick to load in say sample files to copy some pre-fabs but I use an always loaded level containing my master lighting and a few key lights as a quick start.