diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 4b1d027..bb43db3 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ test:              ## correctness tests + scientific-validation tests (the spine
 	uv run pytest
 
 layer1:            ## run experiments E1-E6 + the learning-kernel bridge (analytic)
-	for e in E1 E2 E3 E4 E5 E6 E7 E8 E9 E10 E11 E12 E12_nk kernel_sharpen kernel_smooth; do uv run python -m knowledge.experiment configs/layer1/$$e.yaml; done
+	for e in E1 E2 E3 E4 E5 E6 E7 E8 E9 E10 E11 E12 E12_nk E14 kernel_sharpen kernel_smooth; do uv run python -m knowledge.experiment configs/layer1/$$e.yaml; done
 
 neural:            ## run Layer 1.5 synthetic neural experiments (excludes the MNIST/torchvision tiers)
 	for c in configs/neural/*.yaml; do case "$$c" in *mnist*|*speciation_real*) ;; \
diff --git a/configs/layer1/E14.yaml b/configs/layer1/E14.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b9f0cab
--- /dev/null
+++ b/configs/layer1/E14.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+experiment: E14
+kind: mating_system
+seed: 20260709
+n_replicates: 20
+
+# (Mating systems — monogamy vs promiscuity): a finite population of genotypes evolves on a Kauffman
+# NK landscape, recombining sexually, but the MATE-POOL BREADTH is swept. Agents sit on a ring; an
+# offspring's second parent is drawn from a window of half-width ~ breadth*N/2 around the focal parent,
+# and selection is LOCAL (offspring competes only against the incumbent at its ring position). breadth
+# -> 0 is monogamous / structured (local mating, isolation by distance); breadth = 1 is promiscuous /
+# panmictic (mate with anyone). Crossed with ruggedness K, this is the mating-system image of the E9
+# design rule. Expect: on smooth landscapes (K low) promiscuity maximises the best fitness (spread the
+# single good direction fastest); as ruggedness rises the OPTIMAL breadth SHRINKS toward an intermediate
+# value (full promiscuity prematurely converges below it); and diversity + occupied local optima are
+# monotonically destroyed by breadth at every K, most severely on rugged landscapes. Falsifier: the best
+# breadth is independent of K (no crossover), or promiscuity is best at every ruggedness.
+
+mating:
+  L: 12              # loci (genotype space 2^L)
+  N: 48              # population size (ring positions)
+  breadth: 1.0       # mate-pool breadth in [0,1] (overwritten by the sweep)
+  K: 0               # landscape ruggedness / epistasis (overwritten by the sweep)
+  recomb_rate: 0.5   # per-gap crossover rate (near-free reassortment within a mating)
+  mu: 0.003          # per-locus mutation rate
+
+generations: 60
+
+sweep:
+  - param: mating.K
+    values: [0, 3, 6, 10]
+  - param: mating.breadth
+    values: [0.03, 0.08, 0.17, 0.35, 0.6, 1.0]
+
+output: {dir: results/E14}
diff --git a/figures/plot_E14.py b/figures/plot_E14.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0c63ca2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/figures/plot_E14.py
@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+"""E14 figure — mating systems: monogamy vs promiscuity (mate-pool breadth) across ruggedness.
+
+Three panels, each vs mate-pool breadth (log x: 0.03 = monogamous/structured -> 1.0 = promiscuous/
+panmictic), one line per landscape ruggedness K:
+
+(A) best fitness / global optimum — the *champion*. On smooth landscapes (low K) it is maximised by
+    wide breadth; as ruggedness rises the peak shifts to an INTERMEDIATE breadth (full promiscuity
+    prematurely converges below it) — the mating-system image of E9's "optimal recombination rate
+    shrinks with ruggedness".
+(B) mean fitness / global optimum — the *typical* individual. Monotonically favoured by breadth at
+    every K: panmixia lifts the whole population toward a good consensus.
+(C) diversity (mean normalised pairwise Hamming) — monotonically DESTROYED by breadth at every K
+    (promiscuity homogenises), the reservoir largest under monogamy and on rugged landscapes.
+
+The tension between (A)/(C) is the result: promiscuity maximises the typical model and kills diversity;
+on rugged landscapes the best model needs preserved diversity, so an intermediate breadth wins.
+
+Usage:  python figures/plot_E14.py
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import sys
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
+
+sys.path.insert(0, str(Path(__file__).parent))
+from _figlib import load_bundle, savefig  # noqa: E402
+
+
+def main() -> None:
+    df, _ = load_bundle("results/E14")
+    last = df[df["generation"] == df["generation"].max()].copy()
+    last["best_n"] = last["best_fitness"] / last["global_opt"]
+    last["mean_n"] = last["mean_fitness"] / last["global_opt"]
+    Ks = sorted(last["K"].unique())
+    cmap = plt.get_cmap("viridis")
+    colors = {K: cmap(i / max(1, len(Ks) - 1)) for i, K in enumerate(Ks)}
+
+    fig, axes = plt.subplots(1, 3, figsize=(16, 5))
+    panels = [
+        ("best_n", "best fitness / global optimum", "(A) the champion: best model in the population",
+         "best fitness peaks at INTERMEDIATE breadth\non rugged landscapes (the peak shifts left as K rises)"),
+        ("mean_n", "mean fitness / global optimum", "(B) the typical model: population mean",
+         "monotonically favoured by wide breadth\n(panmixia lifts the whole population)"),
+        ("diversity", "diversity (mean pairwise Hamming)", "(C) standing diversity",
+         "monotonically destroyed by breadth\n(promiscuity homogenises; monogamy preserves)"),
+    ]
+    for ax, (col, ylab, title, subtitle) in zip(axes, panels):
+        for K in Ks:
+            g = (last[last["K"] == K].groupby("breadth")[col]
+                 .agg(["mean", "sem"]).reset_index())
+            ax.errorbar(g["breadth"], g["mean"], yerr=1.96 * g["sem"].fillna(0.0),
+                        marker="o", lw=1.8, capsize=2, color=colors[K], label=f"K={K}")
+        ax.set_xscale("log")
+        ax.set(xlabel="mate-pool breadth  (monogamous ← → promiscuous)", ylabel=ylab)
+        ax.set_title(f"{title}\n{subtitle}", fontsize=9)
+        ax.legend(title="ruggedness", frameon=False, fontsize=8)
+
+    fig.suptitle("E14 — monogamy vs promiscuity: the best mate-pool breadth shrinks as skills get more entangled",
+                 y=1.02, fontsize=13)
+    fig.tight_layout()
+    savefig(fig, "results/E14", "E14")
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    main()
diff --git a/paper/the-evolution-of-sex-for-ai-accessible.md b/paper/the-evolution-of-sex-for-ai-accessible.md
index 5102bba..411e965 100644
--- a/paper/the-evolution-of-sex-for-ai-accessible.md
+++ b/paper/the-evolution-of-sex-for-ai-accessible.md
@@ -187,6 +187,18 @@ only worked as a whole. Biologists call this **outbreeding depression**, and we
 gets. The design rule: *combine freely when skills are independent; combine sparingly and carefully when
 they're tangled.*
 
+**How *widely* you mate matters too.** That last point was about *how much* to mix; a separate knob is
+*who mixes with whom*. **Monogamy** = each model only ever combines within a small, fixed circle;
+**promiscuity** = any model can combine with any other. Almost all model-merging today is promiscuous by
+default — throw everything in one pot. But there's a catch: wide mixing spreads good traits fast, but it
+also makes the whole population converge to the *same thing*, killing variety. Narrow, local mixing keeps
+separate sub-groups exploring different solutions. We tested this against tangledness, and the best answer
+*moves*: on simple (independent-skill) problems, wide promiscuous merging is best; but the more tangled
+the skills, the more you want to *narrow* it — full promiscuity converges too fast onto one mediocre
+solution and finds a *worse* champion, while keeping structured sub-groups preserves the variety a hard
+problem needs. So the rule extends: *merge widely for independent skills; keep separate sub-populations
+("island" merging) for tangled ones.*
+
 **AI can do sex better than biology can.** Biology is stuck with two parents, mating more or less at
 random, and can't inspect a child before it's born. AI has none of those limits. It can combine **many**
 parents at once; it can **choose** which parents to combine, for complementary skills; and it can
@@ -449,6 +461,12 @@ real language models. Here's the shape of the evidence (a separate document has
   level off below. On *tangled* problems, blind combining instead produces below-parent children
   (outbreeding depression) — and *directed* combining (choose mates, screen offspring, many parents)
   reliably fixes it.
+- **Monogamy vs promiscuity.** Sweeping how *widely* models merge — from local/monogamous to
+  everyone-with-everyone/promiscuous — against how tangled the skills are, the best breadth **shrinks as
+  the skills get more tangled**: wide promiscuous merging wins when skills are independent, but on tangled
+  problems it converges too fast onto one mediocre solution and finds a worse champion, so keeping
+  structured sub-populations wins. (Promiscuity always lifts the *typical* model but always destroys
+  variety.) A merging design knob the field, which throws everything in one pot, doesn't currently have.
 - **The combining claims, in real language models — with a sharp condition.** Merging fine-tuned Qwen
   models (up to 7B on a GPU cluster) produces a generalist that beats every specialist parent; and
   keeping parents separate and *routing*, or *breeding and screening* offspring, beats the plain average
diff --git a/paper/the-evolution-of-sex-for-ai.md b/paper/the-evolution-of-sex-for-ai.md
index 7bd1c5e..4a7898c 100644
--- a/paper/the-evolution-of-sex-for-ai.md
+++ b/paper/the-evolution-of-sex-for-ai.md
@@ -270,7 +270,7 @@ beats the average in exact proportion to how far the average is from the best at
 that sharpens rather than weakens the claim, and that a practitioner needs before spending compute on
 the fancier operator.
 
-Two caveats keep this honest, and both are results, not hand-waving.
+Three results keep this honest, and all are results, not hand-waving.
 
 *Sex can backfire.* When the parents' skills are not cleanly separable but **entangled** — when the
 value of one capability depends on which others are present (geneticists call this **epistasis**) —
@@ -280,6 +280,22 @@ reproduce it: on "rugged" (highly entangled) problems, naive merging drops offsp
 parents, and the more you mix the worse it gets. The design rule that falls out is simple: *merge
 freely when skills are complementary; merge sparingly, and carefully, when they are entangled.*
 
+*The mating system matters too — not just who mates, but how widely.* The result above is about the
+recombination *rate*; a separate knob is the population's **mating structure** — whether reproduction is
+**monogamous** (each model recombines within a narrow, local circle) or **promiscuous** (mates drawn
+freely from the whole population). Almost all model-merging implicitly assumes promiscuity — fuse
+everything, or route over one flat pool — but population genetics says the breadth of gene flow is itself
+consequential, because wide flow spreads good variants fast while **homogenising** the population, and
+narrow flow preserves the distinct sub-populations needed to explore several solutions at once (Wright's
+*shifting balance*). We sweep exactly this breadth against landscape ruggedness, and the optimum moves:
+on smooth (additive) landscapes wide, promiscuous mating is best (spread the one good direction fastest),
+but as the landscape gets rugged the best breadth **shrinks to an intermediate value** — full promiscuity
+prematurely converges onto one basin and finds a *worse* champion, while pure monogamy over-fragments.
+Throughout, wide mating lifts the *typical* model but monotonically **destroys diversity** — so on rugged
+problems, where the best model needs preserved diversity to be found, structured (partly monogamous)
+merging wins. The design rule extends the one above: *merge widely when skills are additive; keep
+structured sub-populations — island-style merging — when skills are rugged.* (Figure: `results/E14/E14.png`.)
+
 *AI can do sex better than biology can.* Biology is stuck with two parents, mating roughly at random,
 and cannot inspect an offspring before it is born. An AI has none of those limits. It can recombine
 **many** parents at once; it can **choose** which parents to combine, for complementarity; and it can
@@ -599,6 +615,13 @@ shape.)
   produces below-parent offspring (outbreeding depression) — and *directed* recombination (choose mates,
   screen offspring, unbounded parents) reliably fixes it. This is the concrete evidence for the paper's
   central reframing.
+- *The mating system, not just the mating.* Sweeping how *widely* models recombine — from monogamous
+  (local, structured) to promiscuous (panmictic) — against landscape ruggedness, the best breadth
+  **shrinks as skills get more entangled**: wide, promiscuous merging wins on additive landscapes, but on
+  rugged ones it prematurely converges to a worse champion and an intermediate, structured breadth wins,
+  because promiscuity monotonically destroys the diversity a rugged search needs. A merging-native design
+  axis — *merge widely for additive skills, keep island-structured sub-populations for entangled ones* —
+  that the model-merging literature, which assumes panmixia, does not have.
 - *The recombination claims, in real language models — with a sharp condition.* Merging LoRA-specialised
   Qwen models (up to 7B on a GPU cluster) produces a generalist that beats every specialist parent
   (Fisher–Muller, for real); and keeping parents intact and *routing*, or *breeding and screening*
diff --git a/results/E14/E14.pdf b/results/E14/E14.pdf
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..49fc4bb
Binary files /dev/null and b/results/E14/E14.pdf differ
diff --git a/results/E14/E14.png b/results/E14/E14.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..90ec22c
Binary files /dev/null and b/results/E14/E14.png differ
diff --git a/results/E14/README.md b/results/E14/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ab4fac8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/results/E14/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+# E14 — Mating systems: monogamy vs promiscuity (mate-pool breadth)
+
+**Claim tested.** The society experiments (E8–E11) assumed **panmixia** — every offspring recombined
+from parents sampled across the whole population. Biology's mating systems instead span a continuum
+from **monogamy** (mating within a narrow, local circle) to **promiscuity** (mates drawn freely from
+everyone), and population genetics says the choice matters: wide gene flow spreads a good allele fast
+but **homogenises** the population, while restricted gene flow (population structure / *isolation by
+distance*) keeps demes distinct so several fitness peaks can be explored in parallel (Wright's shifting
+balance). E14 asks how the best mating system depends on how **entangled** the skills are.
+
+**Setup.** A finite population of `N=48` genotypes (`L=12` biallelic loci) evolves on a Kauffman **NK**
+landscape (ruggedness `K`). Agents sit on a **ring**; an offspring's second parent is drawn from a
+window of half-width `≈ breadth·N/2` around the focal parent, so **mate-pool breadth** `b` is a single
+scalar: `b→0` = monogamous / structured (local mating), `b=1` = promiscuous / panmictic. Selection is
+**local** — an offspring replaces the incumbent at its own ring position only if strictly fitter — so
+restricted mating can actually sustain distinct demes instead of being washed out. Sweep `b ∈ {0.03,
+0.08, 0.17, 0.35, 0.6, 1.0}` × `K ∈ {0, 3, 6, 10}`, 60 generations, 20 replicates, `μ=0.003`,
+crossover rate 0.5. Bitwise-reproducible from the master seed.
+
+### Results — the best breadth shrinks as the landscape gets more rugged
+`best_fitness / global_opt` (the *champion*), mean over 20 reps; **bold = best breadth at that K**:
+
+| K \ breadth | 0.03 | 0.08 | 0.17 | 0.35 | 0.60 | 1.00 |
+|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
+| **0** (additive) | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.000 |
+| **3** (mild) | 0.995 | 0.993 | 0.997 | 0.993 | **0.9997** | 0.993 |
+| **6** (rugged) | 0.986 | 0.972 | 0.983 | **0.989** | 0.984 | 0.982 |
+| **10** (very rugged) | 0.961 | 0.968 | 0.967 | **0.980** | 0.964 | 0.965 |
+
+- **K=0** saturates: an additive (single-peak) landscape is solved by everyone regardless of mating, so
+  the champion metric can't discriminate (it only shows up in diversity, below).
+- **K=3**: the optimum is at **wide** breadth (`b=0.6`) — near-promiscuous mating maximises the champion
+  when the landscape is mild.
+- **K=6, K=10**: the optimum moves to an **intermediate** breadth (`b=0.35`), and *full promiscuity*
+  falls below it. Wide mating **prematurely converges** on rugged landscapes; pure monogamy
+  over-fragments (too little gene flow to combine complementary basins). The best of both is
+  intermediate structure — the mating-system image of E9's "optimal recombination rate shrinks with
+  ruggedness."
+
+### Results — the diversity/mean tension that drives it
+Two monotone effects, opposite in sign, at **every** K (mean over reps at K=10):
+
+| breadth | 0.03 | 0.08 | 0.17 | 0.35 | 0.60 | 1.00 |
+|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
+| mean fitness / opt | 0.890 | 0.914 | 0.926 | 0.941 | 0.941 | 0.943 |
+| diversity (pairwise Hamming) | 0.441 | 0.413 | 0.384 | 0.346 | 0.265 | 0.282 |
+| distinct local optima occupied | 11.0 | 8.6 | 7.4 | 7.3 | 7.2 | 6.9 |
+
+- **Mean fitness** rises monotonically with breadth: panmixia lifts the *typical* individual toward a
+  good consensus fastest.
+- **Diversity** and **occupied peaks** fall monotonically with breadth: promiscuity **homogenises**;
+  monogamy preserves the standing variation (and the parallel exploration of distinct basins) — most
+  strongly on rugged landscapes.
+
+So promiscuity maximises the *typical* model and destroys diversity; on a rugged landscape the *best*
+model needs that preserved diversity, so an intermediate breadth wins the champion even though the wide
+breadth still wins the mean. (Panel A = champion, Panel B = mean, Panel C = diversity.)
+
+### Positioning
+This is the population-**structure** axis the model-merging literature does not have. Merging/soup work
+implicitly assumes panmixia (fuse everything, or route among a flat pool); E14 says the *breadth* of who
+merges with whom is itself a design knob, and its optimum is set by the entanglement of the skills:
+**merge widely when skills are additive; keep sub-populations (structured / island merging) when skills
+are rugged and diversity must be preserved to explore and later combine basins.** It complements E9
+(recombination *rate*) and E11 (diversity is load-bearing) on a new, orthogonal axis. **Falsifier (not
+triggered):** the best breadth independent of `K` (no crossover), or promiscuity best at every
+ruggedness — instead the optimal breadth shifts from `0.6` (K=3) to `0.35` (K≥6), and diversity is
+monotonically lost to breadth throughout.
diff --git a/results/E14/manifest.json b/results/E14/manifest.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..06734fb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/results/E14/manifest.json
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+{
+  "experiment": "E14",
+  "master_seed": 20260709,
+  "git_commit": "9fea375ff89f2b88a4deb5881894087555558863",
+  "python": "3.14.5",
+  "libraries": {
+    "numpy": "2.5.0",
+    "scipy": "1.18.0",
+    "pandas": "3.0.3",
+    "pyarrow": "24.0.0"
+  },
+  "rows": 29280,
+  "results_sha256": "5766302157f44c0f27228f361b43c06b0651697a7dcc38848eb1d94d0502faa6"
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/results/E14/resolved_config.yaml b/results/E14/resolved_config.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a92f828
--- /dev/null
+++ b/results/E14/resolved_config.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+experiment: E14
+seed: 20260709
+n_replicates: 20
+source_config:
+  experiment: E14
+  kind: mating_system
+  seed: 20260709
+  n_replicates: 20
+  mating:
+    L: 12
+    N: 48
+    breadth: 1.0
+    K: 0
+    recomb_rate: 0.5
+    mu: 0.003
+  generations: 60
+  sweep:
+  - param: mating.K
+    values:
+    - 0
+    - 3
+    - 6
+    - 10
+  - param: mating.breadth
+    values:
+    - 0.03
+    - 0.08
+    - 0.17
+    - 0.35
+    - 0.6
+    - 1.0
+  output:
+    dir: results/E14
diff --git a/src/knowledge/experiment.py b/src/knowledge/experiment.py
index d5404ff..6607523 100644
--- a/src/knowledge/experiment.py
+++ b/src/knowledge/experiment.py
@@ -207,6 +207,46 @@ def run_dynamic_experiment(cfg: dict) -> pd.DataFrame:
     return out
 
 
+_MATING_KEYS = ("mating", "generations")
+
+
+def run_mating_experiment(cfg: dict) -> pd.DataFrame:
+    """Run the mating-system experiment across a ``breadth`` x ``K`` sweep x replicates (E14).
+
+    Mirrors ``run_dynamic_experiment``: assembles the base from the ``mating``/``generations`` blocks,
+    takes the Cartesian product of the swept params (typically ``mating.breadth`` and ``mating.K``,
+    plain dotted paths), and calls ``run_mating_system`` per grid point x replicate with paired seeds.
+    """
+    from .mating_system import run_mating_system
+
+    base = {k: copy.deepcopy(cfg[k]) for k in _MATING_KEYS if k in cfg}
+    sweeps = cfg.get("sweep", [])
+    if isinstance(sweeps, dict):
+        sweeps = [sweeps]
+    params = [s["param"] for s in sweeps]
+    value_lists = [list(s["values"]) for s in sweeps]
+    combos = [({}, base)] if not sweeps else []
+    for values in itertools.product(*value_lists):
+        lin = copy.deepcopy(base)
+        label: dict = {}
+        for param, val in zip(params, values):
+            label.update(_apply_param(lin, param, val))
+        combos.append((label, lin))
+
+    seeds = spawn_seeds(int(cfg["seed"]), int(cfg["n_replicates"]))
+    frames: list[pd.DataFrame] = []
+    for label, lin in combos:
+        for rep, ss in enumerate(seeds):
+            df = run_mating_system(lin, int(ss.generate_state(1)[0]))
+            for col, val in label.items():
+                df[col] = val
+            df["replicate"] = rep
+            frames.append(df)
+    out = pd.concat(frames, ignore_index=True)
+    out.insert(0, "experiment", cfg["experiment"])
+    return out
+
+
 def run_coverage(cfg: dict) -> pd.DataFrame:
     """E4 runner: multi-teacher recombination coverage (blueprint 2.5-E4 / 2.7.1).
 
@@ -377,6 +417,8 @@ def run_and_save(config_path: str | Path) -> Path:
     elif kind == "speciation":
         from .speciation import run_speciation                # E12: reproductive isolation / merge limits
         df = run_speciation(cfg, int(cfg["seed"]))
+    elif kind == "mating_system":
+        df = run_mating_experiment(cfg)                       # E14: monogamy vs promiscuity (mate-pool breadth)
     else:
         df = run_experiment(cfg)
     save_artifacts(cfg, df, out_dir)
diff --git a/src/knowledge/mating_system.py b/src/knowledge/mating_system.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2200dbd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/knowledge/mating_system.py
@@ -0,0 +1,113 @@
+"""Mating systems — monogamy vs promiscuity as mate-pool breadth (E14).
+
+The society experiments (E8–E11) assumed **panmixia**: every offspring is recombined from parents
+sampled across the *whole* population. But biology's mating systems span a continuum from **monogamy**
+(each individual mates within a narrow, local circle) to **promiscuity** (mates drawn freely from the
+whole population), and population genetics says the choice is consequential. Wide gene flow spreads a
+beneficial allele across the population fast but **homogenises** it; restricted gene flow (population
+structure / *isolation by distance*) keeps demes distinct so several fitness peaks can be explored in
+parallel — Wright's *shifting balance*.
+
+Here the mating system is one scalar: mate-pool **breadth** ``b``. Agents sit on a ring; an offspring's
+second parent is drawn from a window of half-width ``≈ b·N/2`` around the focal parent. ``b→0`` =
+**monogamous / structured** (local mating, isolation by distance); ``b=1`` = **promiscuous / panmictic**
+(mate with anyone). Selection is **local** — an offspring competes only against the incumbent at its own
+ring position — so restricted mating can actually sustain distinct demes rather than being washed out by
+global truncation.
+
+Crossed with landscape ruggedness ``K`` (Kauffman NK epistasis), this is the mating-system image of the
+E9 design rule. Prediction: **promiscuity wins on additive/smooth landscapes** (one peak — spread the
+single good direction fastest), while **structured/monogamous mating wins on rugged/epistatic
+landscapes** (many peaks — diversity must be preserved to explore basins that recombination can later
+combine). Falsifier: the best mating system is independent of ruggedness (no crossover).
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from typing import Any, Mapping
+
+import numpy as np
+import pandas as pd
+
+from .genotype import bits_to_index, crossover, hill_climb, nk_fitness
+
+
+def _diversity(pop_bits: np.ndarray) -> float:
+    """Mean normalised pairwise Hamming distance over the population (0 = clonal, 1 = maximal)."""
+    N, L = pop_bits.shape
+    if N < 2:
+        return 0.0
+    match = (pop_bits[:, None, :] == pop_bits[None, :, :]).sum(axis=2)   # (N, N) locus agreements
+    ham = L - match                                                      # pairwise Hamming distances
+    return float(ham.sum() / (N * (N - 1)) / L)                          # mean over ordered pairs, /L
+
+
+def _distinct_peaks(pop_bits: np.ndarray, fitness: np.ndarray, L: int) -> int:
+    """Number of distinct local optima the population occupies (hill-climb each agent to its basin)."""
+    return len({hill_climb(fitness, L, bits_to_index(b)) for b in pop_bits})
+
+
+def run_mating_system(cfg: Mapping[str, Any], seed: int) -> pd.DataFrame:
+    """Run one mating-system lineage; return per-generation metrics.
+
+    Args:
+        cfg (Mapping): Config with a ``mating`` block (``L`` loci, ``K`` landscape ruggedness, ``N``
+            population, ``breadth`` mate-pool breadth ``b∈[0,1]``, ``recomb_rate`` crossover rate,
+            ``mu`` per-locus mutation) and ``generations``.
+        seed (int): Replicate seed; the landscape and the run are a pure function of it.
+
+    Returns:
+        pd.DataFrame: One row per generation with ``best_fitness`` (real), ``mean_fitness`` (real),
+        ``diversity`` (mean normalised pairwise Hamming), ``distinct_peaks`` (local optima occupied),
+        and ``global_opt``.
+    """
+    ms = cfg["mating"]
+    L, K, N = int(ms["L"]), int(ms["K"]), int(ms["N"])
+    b = float(ms.get("breadth", 1.0))
+    rate = float(ms.get("recomb_rate", 0.5))
+    mu = float(ms.get("mu", 0.01))
+    generations = int(cfg.get("generations", 100))
+
+    fitness = nk_fitness(L, K, seed)                     # reality
+    global_opt = float(fitness.max())
+    rng = np.random.default_rng(seed)
+
+    # Population on a ring: position i is fixed ring slot i (so structure persists across generations).
+    pop = rng.integers(0, 2, size=(N, L)).astype(np.int8)
+    half = max(1, int(round(b * N / 2)))                 # mate-window half-width; b=1 -> whole ring
+
+    def fit_of(bits: np.ndarray) -> float:
+        return float(fitness[bits_to_index(bits)])
+
+    rows: list[dict] = []
+
+    def record(t: int) -> None:
+        tf = np.array([fit_of(g) for g in pop])
+        rows.append({
+            "generation": t,
+            "best_fitness": float(tf.max()),
+            "mean_fitness": float(tf.mean()),
+            "diversity": _diversity(pop),
+            "distinct_peaks": _distinct_peaks(pop, fitness, L),
+            "global_opt": global_opt,
+        })
+
+    record(0)
+    for t in range(1, generations + 1):
+        new = pop.copy()
+        for i in range(N):
+            # Second parent from a ring window of half-width `half` around i (isolation by distance).
+            offset = 0
+            while offset == 0:
+                offset = int(rng.integers(-half, half + 1))
+            j = (i + offset) % N
+            child = crossover(np.stack([pop[i], pop[j]]), rate, rng)
+            flip = rng.random(L) < mu
+            child = np.where(flip, 1 - child, child).astype(pop.dtype)
+            # Local selection: the child replaces the incumbent at i only if strictly fitter.
+            if fit_of(child) > fit_of(pop[i]):
+                new[i] = child
+        pop = new
+        record(t)
+
+    return pd.DataFrame(rows)
diff --git a/tests/test_mating_system.py b/tests/test_mating_system.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..55860ed
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_mating_system.py
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+"""Mating-system tests (pure NumPy) — monogamy vs promiscuity as mate-pool breadth (E14).
+
+Cover the diversity helpers and the two load-bearing behaviours: promiscuity (wide mate-pool breadth)
+monotonically destroys standing diversity, and the run is deterministic and well-formed. The full
+ruggedness crossover (intermediate breadth wins the champion on rugged landscapes) is a swept,
+multi-replicate result asserted only in aggregate here to keep the test fast.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import numpy as np
+
+from knowledge.mating_system import _distinct_peaks, _diversity, run_mating_system
+from knowledge.genotype import nk_fitness
+
+
+def _run(breadth: float, K: int = 6, seed: int = 0, gens: int = 40, N: int = 32, L: int = 10):
+    cfg = {"mating": {"L": L, "N": N, "breadth": breadth, "K": K, "recomb_rate": 0.5, "mu": 0.005},
+           "generations": gens}
+    return run_mating_system(cfg, seed=seed)
+
+
+def test_diversity_zero_for_clones_and_positive_for_spread():
+    clones = np.ones((5, 8), dtype=np.int8)
+    assert _diversity(clones) == 0.0                              # identical -> no diversity
+    spread = np.array([[0] * 8, [1] * 8], dtype=np.int8)
+    assert np.isclose(_diversity(spread), 1.0)                    # opposite -> maximal diversity
+
+
+def test_distinct_peaks_counts_basins():
+    fitness = nk_fitness(6, 2, seed=0)
+    pop = np.zeros((4, 6), dtype=np.int8)                         # all identical -> one basin
+    assert _distinct_peaks(pop, fitness, 6) == 1
+
+
+def test_schema_and_bounds():
+    df = _run(0.5)
+    for col in ["generation", "best_fitness", "mean_fitness", "diversity", "distinct_peaks", "global_opt"]:
+        assert col in df.columns
+    assert (df["best_fitness"] <= df["global_opt"] + 1e-9).all()  # nothing beats reality's optimum
+    assert (df["diversity"] >= 0).all() and (df["diversity"] <= 1).all()
+    assert df["distinct_peaks"].iloc[-1] >= 1
+
+
+def test_deterministic_given_seed():
+    a = _run(0.3, seed=7)
+    b = _run(0.3, seed=7)
+    assert np.allclose(a["best_fitness"], b["best_fitness"])      # pure function of the seed
+
+
+def test_promiscuity_destroys_diversity():
+    # Averaged over replicates, wide mate-pool breadth (promiscuity) leaves LESS standing diversity than
+    # narrow breadth (monogamy) — the homogenisation effect, robust on a rugged landscape.
+    def final_div(b):
+        return np.mean([_run(b, K=8, seed=s, gens=40, N=32, L=10)["diversity"].iloc[-1]
+                        for s in range(6)])
+    assert final_div(1.0) < final_div(0.05)                        # panmixia < isolation-by-distance