Editing Lake Van (section)

==Ecology==
[[File:Lake Van, Turkey from STS-41G.jpg|thumb|Lake Van viewed from the [[Space Shuttle Challenger|Space Shuttle ''Challenger'']] during flight [[STS-41-G]]. Southwest is at top.]]
Prior to 2018, the only fish known to live in the [[brackish water]] of Lake Van was ''[[Alburnus tarichi]]'' or Pearl Mullet ({{langx|tr|inci kefali}}), a [[Cyprinid]] fish related to [[European chub|chub]] and [[Common Dace|dace]], which is caught during the spring floods.{{sfn|Danulat|Kempe|1992}} In May and June, these fish migrate from the lake to less alkaline water, spawning either near the mouths of the rivers feeding the lake or in the rivers themselves. After spawning season it returns to the lake.{{sfn|Sarı|2006}} In 2018, a new species of fish, which is deemed as ''[[Oxynoemacheilus ercisianus]]'', has been discovered inside a [[microbialite]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/new-fish-species-found-in-turkeys-lake-van-138137 |title=New fish species found in Turkey's Lake Van |work=Hürriyet Daily News |date=22 October 2018 |access-date=28 March 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=https://zse.pensoft.net/article/62120/ |title=The discovery of a microbialite-associated freshwater fish in the world's largest saline soda lake, Lake Van (Turkey) |journal=Zoosystematics and Evolution |first1=Mustafa |last1=Akkuş |first2=Mustafa |last2=Sarı |first3=F. Güler |last3=Ekmekçi |first4=Baran |last4=Yoğurtçuoğlu |volume=97 |issue=1 |pages=181–189 |date=16 March 2021 |doi=10.3897/zse.97.62120 |access-date=28 March 2021|doi-access=free }}</ref>

103 species of [[phytoplankton]] have been recorded in the lake including [[cyanobacteria]], [[flagellate]]s, [[diatom]]s, [[green algae]], and [[brown algae]]. 36 species of [[zooplankton]] have also been recorded including [[Rotatoria]], [[Cladocera]], and [[Copepoda]] in the lake.<ref>Selçuk 1992</ref>

In 1991, researchers reported the discovery of {{convert|40|m|ft|abbr=on}} tall [[microbialites]] in the lake. These are solid towers on the lake bed formed by coccoid [[cyanobacteria]] (''[[Pleurocapsaceae|Pleurocapsa]]'' group), which create mats of [[aragonite]] that combine with [[calcite]] precipitating out of the lake water.{{sfn|Kempe|Kazmierczak|Landmann|Konuk|1991}}

The region hosts the rare [[Van cat]] breed of cat, having &ndash; among other things &ndash; an unusual fascination with water. The lake is mainly surrounded by fruit orchards and [[cereal|grain]] fields, interspersed by some non-agricultural trees.