 Alder obtained a degree in Oceanography from the Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia in 1982, and received her doctorate in Biological Sciences from the University of Buenos Aires in 1995.Alder's research investigates the impact of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and also El Nino and La Nina on food web structure, species dispersal and population abundance through the investigation of planktonic marine microbial communities.She is based at the Instituto Antartico Argentino; CONICET (National Scientific and Technical Research Council).