[5] The calls of the Junin grebe include melodic whistles doo' ith, wit, and a longer phooee-th when trying to attract a mate.

[3][4] When not breeding, Junin grebe prefer open water, moving far out from lake shores.

[3][4] Lake Junin has been classed as a national reserve since 1974, which has restricted the amount of fishing and hunting that can take place there.

More recently, in 2002, the Peruvian government made an emergency law to place harsher restrictions on water extraction and provisions for cleaning of the lake, but so far this has not been properly enforced.

[2][4] Large fluctuations in water levels, caused by a nearby hydroelectric plant and unstable climatic conditions (in part linked to El Niño), water pollution from mining activities and sewage, burning of reeds, competition for food with the introduced rainbow trout, and drowning in fishing nets, have caused the population of Junin grebes to fall from more than 1000 individuals in 1961 to about 300-400 individuals in the 2010s.

In contrast, the northern silvery grebe (Podiceps occipitalis juninensis), which is widespread in the Andes and mostly feeds on small invertebrates, was historically rare in Lake Junin, but is now common.