Fourier transform near infrared spectroscopy as a tool to predict spawning status in Alaskan fishes with variable reproductive strategies

Fourier-transform near infrared (FT-NIR) spectroscopy of ovarian tissue was used to predict maturity status of fish species with variable reproductive strategies collected at limited time periods of their spawning cycle. Reference data were derived from histologically prepared tissue samples from four species: Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus), walleye pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus), Greenland turbot (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides), and northern rockfish (Sebastes polyspinis). Each data set was classified into reproductively immature (non-spawning) and reproductively mature (spawning-capable) categories. Principal component analysis of spectral data showed separation between ovarian tissues of spawning-capable and non-spawning females. Multivariate classification using partial least squares discriminant analysis indicated good discrimination based on spawning status with high predictive accuracy. Greenland turbot and northern rockfish showed clear distinction between ovaries of spawning-capable and non-spawning females and a model validation with 100% and 96.6% classification accuracy, respectively. Pacific cod and walleye pollock had more complicated reproductive patterns at time of collection and classification rates were still 96.6% and 92.1%. This study demonstrated the potential application of FT-NIR spectroscopy to predict spawning status from ovarian tissue even for species with complicated spawning patterns and for collections outside of the preferred spawning period. Future work may include the use of this technology to classify distinct oocyte development stages.