Right in the heart of New York City is the East River, separating Manhattan and the Bronx from Brooklyn, Queens and the suburbia of Long Island. For many New Yorkers, the river is just water running under the many bridges they cross over during their daily commute. 

But before the confluence of the Hudson River and the harbor became New York City, the East River was home to a diversity of wildlife including fish, oysters and whales. 

What would it take to reincarnate this lost ecosystem of New York City’s central body of water? In this episode of the Scienceline podcast, we try to find the answer.

For more information about this episode, please visit: https://scienceline.org/2021/04/the-lost-and-future-wildlife-of-new-york-citys-east-river

Photo: New York City’s East River is lined by numerous green spaces and parks, including Brooklyn Bridge Park in Brooklyn and the East River Esplanade in Manhattan. [Credit: Ingfbruno | CC BY-SA 3.0]

Music:Waltz in B Minor, Op. 69 no. 2 by Olga Gurevich | Public Domain Mark 1.0Fairy Chant - Elven Song - Epic Music & Vocals by Julius H | Pixabay License

Sound Effects:Whale: davidou | CC0 1.0Birds: hargissssound | CC0 1.0Woodpecker: shelf_employed | CC BY 3.0Owl: shelf_employed | CC BY 3.0Frogs: sweetjuniper | CC0 1.0River: CastleofSamples | CC BY 3.0