What is the visible color scheme that prevents predation by warning potential predators of danger?

The visible color scheme that serves to prevent predation by signaling potential predators about danger is referred to as warning coloration. This strategy often involves bright, conspicuous colors that indicate to predators that an organism is toxic, unpalatable, or otherwise dangerous. By exhibiting these colors, an organism communicates a message of warning, which can lead predators to avoid them in the future, thereby increasing the organism's chances of survival.

This phenomenon is closely related to the concept of aposematism, where both terms are often used interchangeably; however, aposematism specifically refers to the evolutionary advantage gained from such coloration.

Crypsis and camouflage, on the other hand, involve blending in with the environment to avoid detection rather than signaling danger, which distinguishes them from warning coloration. Thus, while they all relate to survival mechanisms against predation, warning coloration directly aims to communicate danger through visual signals.