[2] Lake Matano and its catchment area have a large amount of endemic flora and fauna.

The catchment area's soils and rocks make it have a relatively high amount of iron.

Because the temperature on Sulawesi Island does not change much during the year, the epilimnion never gets cold enough to mix with the hypolimnion.

The environment in the hypolimnion is noteworthy for its possible similarity to oceans in the Archean and Paleoproterozoic Eons, before the Great Oxidation Event (GOE).

Lake Matano is already prone to receiving anthropogenic nitrogen from the atmosphere because of its geographic location.

Because of the constant environmental temperature, the water in the epilimnion cannot cool sufficiently for exchange with the hypolimnion.

Some species, such as Lindsea pellaeiformis, are likely endemic to Sulawesi Island, where Lake Matano is located.

[8] Lake Matano is home to many species of endemic fish and other animals (e.g. Caridina shrimps,[9] Parathelphusid crabs[10] and Tylomelania snails[11]).

The endemic fishes of Matano have been compared to the species swarms of the Rift Valley Lakes of Africa.

Many of the endemics are seriously threatened due to pollution and predation/competition from a wide range of introduced fishes, including flowerhorn cichlids.

[13] The water snake Enhydris matannensis is only known from the vicinity of Lake Matano and on Muna Island.

This is because these oceans, like Lake Matano, probably lacked sulfate and oxygen, and likely had a relatively high amount of Fe(II).

As in the pre-GOE oceans, there was low phosphate availability, limiting the amount of life the epilimnion can support.

[3] However, a small amount of Fe(III), enough to consume a thirtieth of organic carbon, is reduced by microorganisms for respiration.

Methanogenesis in Lake Matano under 110 m is anaerobic, and likely occurs from acetate metabolism, or from carbon dioxide reduction with H2.

Any oxygen that would reach the anoxic zone would likely abiotically oxidize Fe(II), rather than methane.