Lake Chungará adds to the local flora and fauna. These include charophytes, diatoms and aquatic macrophyte plants. Animal taxa found in the lake include bivalves, gastropods and ostracods. About 19 species of Orestias fish are found in the lake, some of which are endemic. The speciation of Orestias chungarensis, Orestias laucaensis and Orestias piacotensis was aided by the volcanic activity of Parinacota and its collapse, which separated the watersheds inhabited by their ancestor species and caused allopatric speciation.