7. One of the World’s Ten Worst Invasive Species Lives in the East River

Image via Wikimedia: CSIRO

According to Concrete Jungle: New York City and Our Last Best Hope for a Sustainable Future by Niles Eldredge and Sidney Horenstein, the East River is home to one of the ten worst invasive species: the European green crab, which was discovered on the Atlantic coast in 1817. During the mid-1900’s, they contributed to a noticeable decline in shellfish (clams, oysters and scallops) harvests. After all, one green crab can consume 40 half-inch clams a day.